Wildlight, the studio behind recently released shooter Highguard, have confirmed that they’ve “parted ways” with an unspecified number of staff. This confirmation follows a former Wildlight level designer affected by the cuts claiming in a LinkedIn post that “most of the team” at the studio have been laid off.
“Unfortunately, along with most of the team at Wildlight, I was laid off today,” the post from senior level designer Alex Graner reads. “This one really stings as there was a lot of unreleased content I was really looking forward to that I and others designed for Highguard.” A number of other former Wildlight staff, including social and community lead Alex Ackerman, lead tech artist Josh Sobel, and lead producer Hunter Hudspeth have since shared their own posts about being let go. The latter wrote that “things are winding down at Wildlight”.
Wildlight subsequently issued the following statement addressing the layoffs to social media:
“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. 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.
No exact numbers of staff laid off have been provided. In a quick scan of LinkedIn this morning I’ve spotted 18 posts from developers acknowledging they’ve been let go.
Highguard released on January 26th, a little over two weeks ago as I write this. The subject of rather inane discourse about a lack of marketing following its reveal at December’s Game Awards, our James’ verdict on the shooter was that it offers a perfectly decent time, if not one that knocks your socks off at this point.
“At its best, Highguard is also subtly effective at recreating the best bits of its myriad inspirations,” he wrote. “For me, the highlights tend to be matches that have the feel of a great Dota 2 game: involving and demanding of attention, where enduring the momentum of an apparently superior team opens up chances to turn the tables, be it through sheer grit or the perfectly-timed deployment of magic skills.”
Solidarity to everyone affected by these layoffs at Wildlight.
