- Wildlight Entertainment has laid off an unspecified number Highguard developers
- The studio confirmed the layoffs, but confirmed that a “core group of developers” will continue to work on the game
- The free-to-play hero shooter launched just two weeks ago
Wildlight Entertainment has confirmed that it has laid off an unspecified number of employees, just two weeks after the launch of its live-service hero shooter, Highguard.
According to former senior designer Alex Graner (via IGN), it appears that most of the development team has been affected. “Unfortunately, along with most of the team at Wildlight, I was fired today,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
Graner added: “This one really stings as there was a lot of unreleased content that I was really looking forward to that I and others designed for Highguard.”
At this time, it is unclear how many employees have been cut, but the studio’s LinkedIn states that it had as many as 200 employees.
Wildlight Entertainment also released a statement confirming the layoffs.
“Today we made the incredibly difficult decision to part ways with a number of our team members, while retaining a core group of developers to continue to innovate and support the game,” a social media post said.
“We’re proud of the team, the talent and the product we’ve created together. We’re also grateful to players who gave the game a shot and those who continue to be a part of our community.”
As for what this means for its new hero shooter, a representative told Eurogamer that work on the game will continue but will be given to a “core group of developers”. How many are in that group is unclear.
Tech artist Josh Sobel was also fired, saying on X/Twitter: “It was the best team I’ve ever worked with and I’ve never put so much of myself into a project before. I wouldn’t trade the last 2.5 years for anything.”
In a separate post, Sobel said, “I LOVED working at Wildight,” adding, “It wasn’t just a gig for me. 2.5 years of work toward a promising, rosy future with the most passionate and efficient developers on the planet.”
Sobel continued, “I don’t think players truly understand how special this group of talented developers was. There were stumbles that any new team would face, but our ability to execute on target and pivot at a moment’s notice was second to none. I’m devastated that this team as a complete unit can no longer be that.”
“We accomplished a lot and I couldn’t be more proud. But it’s hard to believe it’s over. Hard to believe this was the result of all our efforts. I wish the best of luck to everyone who stays at Wildlight. If the numbers go up, I’ll be the first in line to apply again.”
Created by previous Apex Legends and Titan fall developers, Highguard was announced at The Game Awards in December and launched a little over a month later for free.
If you’re thinking of checking it out, the game is now available to play on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
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