Highguard Reportedly Has Less Than 20 Devs Working on It Following Mass Layoffs at Wildlight

Highguard workplace Wildlight Entertainment reportedly has little than 20 radical remaining to enactment connected the crippled pursuing a circular of devastating layoffs conscionable weeks aft the game's launch.

This comes from a caller Bloomberg report, which tells the communicative of Wildlight's emergence and autumn since its founders archetypal assembled the squad backmost successful 2021. Made up of Respawn veterans, the radical hoped to recreate the successes of Apex Legends and Titanfall, initially with a survival-focused shooter.

When that plan didn't rather enactment arsenic good arsenic they'd hoped, they scrapped it and pivoted to Highguard, leaving remnants of the archetypal endurance crippled successful the last draught of what was present a leader shooter. As the crippled progressed, testers had affirmative feedback that had the developers hopeful, though notably they besides said it was much amusive connected microphone with dependable chat, and the acquisition was excessively analyzable and little amusive without them.

Sources speaking to Bloomberg accidental the workplace mostly had a affirmative civilization and the squad felt bully astir what they were making up until the game's announcement astatine The Game Awards past December, which seemingly came astir astatine Geoff Keighley's urging aft helium enjoyed what helium played of it. The squad primitively intended to denote and motorboat Highguard simultaneously, but with The Game Awards announcement that near a month-and-a-half-long soundlessness betwixt announcement and motorboat during which the net had a tract day.

The crippled launched to a celebration-worthy fig of Steam concurrents, but unluckily was incapable to clasp players for precise agelong astatine all, meaning it made precise small wealth from microtransactions. Reviews were besides poor. Though the developers astatine Wildlight believed they had fiscal runway to improve, fiscal backer Tencent abruptly pulled its funding, and astir of the 100-person squad was laid disconnected arsenic a result. Fewer than 20 individuals stay to effort and prevention Highguard. Those developers person precocious reassured that a caller spot is connected the way, aft a website contented led players to judge the full crippled was being taken down.

The afloat communicative is astatine Bloomberg.

Rebekah Valentine is simply a elder newsman for IGN. Got a communicative tip? Send it to [email protected].