Update: Wildlight Entertainment confirms layoffs two weeks after Highguard launch
Update [02/12/26]: Wildlight Entertainment has confirmed it has laid off all but a "core group" of developers who will continue to support Highguard.
"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," said the studio in a statement posted on X.
"We're also grateful for players who gave the game a shot, and those who continue to be a part of our community."
Original story [02/11/26]: Wildlight Entertainment has reportedly laid off a significant portion of its staff, a move that comes within weeks of the launch of its inaugural game, the free-to-play hero shooter Highguard.
Early reports of layoffs at the studio have started to circulate on LinkedIn, with one impacted developer saying that "most" of the studio's 100-plus developers have been impacted. Since that post, other developers with previous employment at Wildlight have started to post on LinkedIn in search of work.
"Unfortunately, along with most of the team at Wildlight, I was laid off today," reads a post from a former Wildlight developer. "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."
Game Developer has reached out to Wildlight Entertainment for comment.
The studio itself was set up in 2022 by former Respawn developers Apex Legends design director Jason McCord and COO & Apex GM Dusty Welch. At the time, Wildlight said it was already years into the development of its first title. That game, Highguard, would later be revealed at the 2025 Game Awards and release one month later for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series XS.
The title currently sits with a "Mixed" review score on Steam with around 23,000 reviews, while the third-party tool SteamDB indicates a dwindling player count on PC since release.
