When Wildlight Entertainment first formed, it was a big win for the developer community. Founded by Chad Grenier and a crew of Respawn veterans, the studio was supposed to be the “safe haven” where creators could build something ambitious. Their debut project, ‘Highguard‘, was teased as a high-stakes shooter that would bring back that tight, responsive gameplay fans have been missing since ‘Titanfall 2‘.
However, the studio is now trimming down. While numbers are unavailable, several developers took to social media to share that they were suddenly looking for work.
‘Highguard’ Dev Team Shrinks Post Release
The speculations started when level designer Alex Graner posted on LinkedIn that Wildlight Entertainment had released him. In the post, he also mentioned that along with him, most of his team” had also been released.
Soon, the company broke the news on their X account. They wrote, “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. We’re proud of the team, talent, and the product we’ve created together. We’re also grateful for players who gave the game a shot, and those who continue to be a part of our community.”
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It is not new that a company, be it indie devs or massive AAA houses, has all been hit with budget cuts. However, in this case, timing made the player base more worried. ‘Highguard‘ was gaining serious momentum in the community, after a fall in the concurrent players. Now, players are wondering if the scope of the game is being shelved.
Is ‘Highguard‘ Still On Track?
As of now, Wildlight hasn’t pulled the plug on ‘Highguard‘ yet, but the vibe has definitely shifted. Before the layoffs, devs promised a “stacked” 2026 roadmap featuring seven episodic updates. The studio claims they are still committed to the vision, but any developer will tell players that losing key talent creates a ripple effect that’s hard to fix.
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Now, players have to see how the remaining team will handle the workload. For a studio that marketed itself on “developer-first” values, this is a defining moment. They either find a way to ship a polished product with a leaner crew, or they become another failed chapter about the risks of independent AAA development.
