Highguard Studio SHUT DOWN?! Devastating Layoffs Rock Wildlight Team!

Ouch. Just weeks after its launch, Wildlight Entertainment, the studio behind the multiplayer shooter *Highguard*, has reportedly laid off a significant portion of its staff. It's a tough break for the developers, and frankly, for anyone excited about the game's potential.

Highguard Studio SHUT DOWN?! Devastating Layoffs R...

The news first surfaced via LinkedIn. Alex Graner, a former Senior Level Designer at Wildlight, posted a message confirming his departure, and adding the somber detail that he was "along with most of the team" let go. While the exact number of employees affected remains officially under wraps, Wildlight's LinkedIn page suggests a studio headcount somewhere between 51 and 200. That makes "most of the team" a pretty significant chunk.

Wildlight itself addressed the situation with a statement on X/Twitter. The message acknowledged the "incredibly difficult decision" to part ways with team members, while also reassuring players that a "core group of developers" remains to support and innovate on the game. It's the kind of carefully worded statement you expect in situations like these, but it does little to soften the blow for those who lost their jobs.

What makes this situation particularly painful is the seemingly promising start *Highguard* had. Circana's Mat Piscatella pointed out on BlueSky that the game debuted impressively on various platforms, even cracking the top 10 for weekly active users on US Steam. So, what happened?

Well, the numbers paint a clear picture. SteamDB data reveals a peak of 97,249 concurrent players on launch day. Impressive! But then... a steep decline. Just two weeks later, that number had plummeted to a mere 4,524. That's a dramatic drop-off, and likely a major factor in the studio's decision to restructure.

"This one really stings," Graner lamented in his LinkedIn post, "as there was a lot of unreleased content I was really looking forward to that I and others designed for Highguard." It's always disheartening to see talented individuals losing their jobs, especially when they're clearly passionate about their work.

Initially, *Highguard* launched with a 3v3 competitive mode, but quickly adapted to player feedback by introducing a 5v5 option. Wildlight even unveiled an ambitious content roadmap, promising monthly updates with new content. Will these plans still come to fruition? While Wildlight insists it will continue supporting the game, the scale and frequency of those updates are now undoubtedly in question. We'll be keeping a close eye on this developing story.