Wildlight Devastation! Layoffs Hit Weeks After Game Launch - What's Next?!

Wildlight Entertainment, the studio founded by former Respawn heavyweights, is reportedly facing a tough situation. Just weeks after the launch of their debut title, the free-to-play hero shooter *Highguard*, whispers of layoffs have turned into confirmation, with reports suggesting a significant portion of their staff has been let go. It's never good news to hear about studio troubles, especially so soon after a major launch.

Wildlight Devastation! Layoffs Hit Weeks After Gam...

The news first broke on LinkedIn, as it often does these days. One affected developer posted about the situation, claiming that "most" of the studio's workforce, numbering over 100 employees, were impacted. That's a pretty significant cut, and a worrying sign for the future of the studio and, frankly, for *Highguard* itself. Since that initial post, a steady stream of other former Wildlight developers have also taken to the professional networking site, all actively seeking new employment. It paints a pretty clear picture of the situation, doesn't it?

"Unfortunately, along with most of the team at Wildlight, I was laid off today," shared one former developer. The personal impact is always the toughest part of these stories. This developer also wrote, "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*." You can feel the disappointment there, knowing that passion projects might never see the light of day. It's a harsh reality in the gaming industry.

*Game Developer* has reached out to Wildlight Entertainment for an official comment on the layoffs. We'll update the story as soon as we hear back. Until then, we're left piecing together the puzzle from the available information.

Wildlight Entertainment was founded back in 2022 by Jason McCord, the design director for *Apex Legends*, and Dusty Welch, who was the COO & GM of *Apex*. That's a pedigree that certainly raised eyebrows at the time. The studio announced that they had already been working on their first title for several years, building anticipation for their debut. *Highguard* was finally revealed at the 2025 Game Awards and launched just a month later on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. A quick turnaround following the hype!

So, where did things seemingly go wrong? Well, *Highguard* currently holds a "Mixed" review score on Steam, based on approximately 23,000 reviews. That's not a death sentence, but it's certainly not the critical acclaim any studio hopes for. SteamDB, the third-party tracking tool that gives us a glimpse into player activity, indicates a declining player count on PC since the game's release. This suggests the game may be struggling to retain players, which, for a free-to-play title, is a crucial metric for success. It's a competitive market out there, and retaining players is everything.