Wildlight Entertainment, developer of free-to-play shooter Highguard, has fewer than 20 staff remaining after mass layoffs in February. Sources told Bloomberg that employees were informed the studio was out of money at an all-hands meeting, with most of its 100-person team let go. Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group was the lead financial backer, with funding reportedly contingent on hitting retention metrics the game never approached. Highguard peaked at nearly 100,000 concurrent Steam players at launch on January 26 but lost roughly 90% of its player base within a week. Former devs say leadership, composed largely of ex-Respawn Entertainment veterans, tried to replicate the shadow-drop success of Apex Legends despite a changed gaming landscape, and rejected early access suggestions in pursuit of that strategy.
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