Highguard's dev team consists of less than 20 people after funding was pulled

Wildlight Entertainment, the devs behind the ill-fated Highguard, has reportedly diminished down to a team of less than 20 people, sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

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New information has surfaced on Highguard's disastrous release and the fallout that has ensued. New reports from Bloomberg indicate that Highguard's fall from grace, so to speak, was swift--the game amassed a high number of players shortly after launching, but the general feedback lambasted the F2P shooter, essentially casting the game off into the dreaded live service graveyard shortly after launch. It didn't help that the game actually released into controversy surrounding its marketing--or lack thereof.

That controversy heated up even further when it was revealed that Tencent had funded Highguard, leading gamers to feel duped by the assertions from Wildlight that they were fully independent. A quick double-check also shows that Tencent has a seat on The Game Awards' advisory board--in December 2025, The Game Awards showrunner Geoff Keighley gave Highguard the coveted last premiere slot of the showcase. It was previously believed that Keighley had chosen Highguard because he liked the game, which may well be true, however the absent disclosures of where the funding actually came from has made gamers suspicious.

Shortly after release, Tencent pulled funding for future Highguard content, leading to mass layoffs at Wildlight. It's unclear as to whether or not Highguard led to some sort of write-down for Tencent. The Chinese publisher apparently may have signed on to fund more Highguard content, but only if the game did well and hit/maintained unspecified targets.

Following the layoffs, it's now been reported that Highguard's team ranks less than 20 people. It was believed that the team consisted of around 100 people while the game was being worked on.

Tencent has yet to make any kind of statement on Highguard, but it actually may not, as the company makes these kinds of deals to fund content all of the time. If anything, investors may get more clarification during an earnings call.