Highguard developer Wildlight Entertainment lays off staff just two weeks after release

Developer Wildlight Entertainment has been hit by layoffs, first spotted in series of posts on LinkedIn before the company confirmed it in a statement on X. Highguard, the studio’s first game, was released on Jan. 26 — roughly two weeks ago.

The layoffs at Wildlight appear to span across disciplines, including gameplay engineers, software engineers, UI designers, and more. Level designer Alex Garner said on LinkedIn that “most of the team at Wildlight” was let go. Polygon has not been able to verify how many people were let go. When reached for comment, representatives for Wildlight directed Polygon toward the statement on X.

“Today we made an incredibly difficult decision to part ways with a number of our team members while keeping a core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game,” reads the statement. “We’re proud of the team, talent, and the product we’ve created together. We’re also grateful for players who gave the game a shot, and those who continue to be a part of our community.”

Highguard was infamously revealed during the 2025 Game Awards back in December, where it debuted in the coveted “one more thing” final spot. Although the trailer showed off flashy visuals, it did little to explain what the game actually was or how it played. Those questions went largely unanswered for a month, spurring onlookers to fill in the gaps — and not positively. A late-January press preview revealed more details about the game and its development. (Those junkets also revealed that Game Awards host Geoff Keighley played a role in convincing the team to debut at The Game Awards. Wildlight had initially planned to shadow-drop the game.)

Initiative critical reception (including from Polygon) was glowing, but Highguard struggled to find an audience. Since launch, the studio has implemented a 5v5 mode, which was so positively received by players that Wildlight made it permanent. On Friday, Highguard received its first new playable character — who rolled out alongside an update that fine-tuned the gameplay, giving a broad impression that Highguard was turning the ship around.

Speaking to Polygon in January, studio head Chad Grenier said that “it doesn’t matter” whether Highguard “gets a thousand people or a hundred million people.” The studio also told Polygon that it has a year of content planned for Highguard.