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Wildlight Entertainment confirmed that it laid off team members shortly after Highguard launched, while former employees described the cuts as affecting “most” of the team. The studio did not disclose a precise number. It initially said a core group would continue supporting the game, but Highguard shut down on March 12, 2026.
Did Wildlight lay off most of its staff?
Former Wildlight level designer Alex Graner wrote that he had been laid off “along with most of the team,” according to PC Gamer’s February 12, 2026 report. Wildlight’s own statement was less specific: it confirmed parting ways with “a number” of team members and said a core group would continue working on the game. The studio did not publish a headcount, so “most” is a former employee’s characterization, not an official figure.
Wildlight said: “Today we made an incredibly difficult decision to part ways with a number of our team members while keeping a core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game.” Game Developer reproduced the statement on February 12.
When did the layoffs happen?
Highguard launched as a free-to-play game on January 26, 2026. Layoff reports surfaced on February 11, when Graner posted about his departure; Wildlight confirmed staff cuts on February 12. That places the studio’s confirmation 17 days after launch. Dot Esports reported the launch and initial layoff reports.
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What happened to Highguard after the layoffs?
The February statement described continued support from a core group, but it did not guarantee that the game would operate indefinitely. On March 3, Wildlight announced that Highguard would close its servers on March 12, 2026. That closure took place, and the game is no longer playable online.
In the shutdown announcement, Wildlight said it had been unable to build “a sustainable player base to support the game long term.” The announcement, reported by Dot Esports on March 3, also said more than 2 million players had entered the game since launch. That is a total player figure, not a measure of how many people were playing at once or how many remained active.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do the player figures show?
Two reported figures describe different things. PC Gamer reported a Steam launch peak of 97,249 concurrent players and daily Steam peaks in the low thousands by February 12. Those numbers refer to simultaneous activity on Steam, not everyone who played across PC and console. Wildlight’s later figure of more than 2 million players counted people who had entered the game since launch. Neither figure establishes how many players were still active when the servers closed.
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