Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has revealed in a new report that there are fewer than 20 people working at Highguard developer Wildlight Entertainment.
Tencent, the Chinese conglomerate that is funding the project, has now reportedly pulled its funding, which has resulted in mass layoffs at Wildlight Entertainment. It is believed that Highguard’s financial was contingent on the game achieving a strong retention rate among other metrics. The Bloomberg report states that news about the lack of funding for Highguard came during a meeting just two weeks after the game’s launch.
On February 12, a day after the meeting took place, Wlidlight Entertainment revealed that it was cutting a number of jobs at the studio, but a core team would remain in place to continue Highguard support.
When talking about what went wrong with Highguard’s launch, members of the team would frequently use the word hubris. Apparently, leadership were confident they could replicate the success of Apex Legends, albeit failing to acknowledge the the changing landscape within the industry.
Indeed, Highguard’s fortunes have not improved since its release, as the game’s concurrent player count has dropped significantly, reaching a peak of just over 600 in the last 24 hours. Quite what will happen going forward is anyone’s guess, but it’s not looking good for Highguard right now.
Highguard was announced during the climax of The Game Awards 2025 back in December, and launched in late January 2026 for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S. The development team at Wildlight feature a number of staff who worked on the likes of Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty.
The game takes the form of a PvP raid shooter where players are thrust into the role of Wardens; arcane gunslingers who battle for control of a mythical content. Alongside regular FPS mechanics, Highguard also utilises mounted combat, destructible environments, and fantasy-themed powers.
[Source – Bloomberg]