Ex Highguard developers blame "hubris" for the game's failure in new report, with studio leaders convinced they had another Apex Legends on their hands

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Ex Highguard developers blame "hubris" for the game's failure in new report, with studio leaders convinced they had another Apex Legends on their hands News By Jordan Gerblick published 27 February 2026

Only about 20 developers are left at Wildlight, reportedly

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(Image credit: Wildlight Entertainment)

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The story of Highguard reads like a fever dream, marked by an oddly timed Game Awards trailer, surprisingly encouraging player numbers at launch, a flurry of large-scale updates, and then, just weeks after launch, the abrupt laying off of most of the development team.

The game isn't dead and in fact is still getting updates presumably from a skeleton crew, but articles that read like in memoriam notices are already starting to appear. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, for example, has a new report with the headline 'The Story Behind the Failure of Highguard', in which the veteran journalist talked to 10 former employees of Wildlight about "one of 2026's first gaming disasters — the sudden collapse of Wildlight Entertainment and its first game, Highguard."

As with any failure, the fault can probably be rightfully divvied up among many different factors, but the sources in Bloomberg's reporting mostly lay that blame on "hubris," saying early calls to open the game up for pre-release testing and feedback were rejected by leadership, a team of Respawn veterans who were confident they had the next Apex Legends on their hands.

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• "There's no way this will flop": Laid-off Highguard dev says internal sentiment was high "but then the trailer came out"

Although launch player figures were strong at about 100,000 peak concurrent players on Steam, critical and user reviews weren't proportionately great and those player numbers started to quickly dwindle, making player retention the biggest concern at developer Wildlight. According to Bloomberg, Highguard lost about 90% of its players in a week, and even so, there was reportedly still confidence that there was enough funding from Tencent to keep the game running for at least a few more months.

Bloomberg reports that an all hands-on meeting took place two weeks after launch in which Wildlight leadership informed employees that Tencent had pulled funding and that most of the 100-person team would be laid off. About 20 developers are reportedly still at the studio and hoping to save the game, but as Bloomberg points out, the current Steam charts paint a grim picture.

"There's no way this will flop": Laid-off Highguard dev says internal sentiment was sky-high, "but then the trailer came out, and it was all downhill from there"

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES Xbox Series X PS5 PC Gaming Platforms Xbox PlayStation Jordan GerblickSocial Links NavigationStaff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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Logout Read more "I wish Highguard had been received better," CEO admits, after cancelling a planned Apex Legends-style shadow drop    Highguard studio hit with mass layoffs as "most of the team at Wildlight" is let go    "There's no way this will flop": Laid-off Highguard dev says internal sentiment was high "but then the trailer came out"    Highguard was reportedly secretly funded by Tencent, and I don't know what hope a multiplayer FPS has in 2026    Highguard boss says "the toxicity is challenging," will "continue to ask" if The Game Awards reveal was right decision    Highguard was "doomed," says indie veteran, and "now you have a developer still unable to believe they made a bad game"    Latest in FPS Games Marathon's server slam sees 143,000 concurrent Steam players so far, which isn't far behind Arc Raiders' own server slam    Here's a list of every weapon in Marathon    All maps and zones in Marathon    How to get Twitch Drops in Marathon and link your Twitch and Bungie accounts    All it took was Overwatch cosmetics for new tank baddie Domina to send fans to the dark side in the ongoing faction wars    Here's a look at all six Marathon factions you'll get to do business for and how their contracts work    Latest in News Ex Highguard developers blame "hubris" for the game's failure in new report    Modders are teaming up to make Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 multiplayer a reality with visions for PvP and GTA-style RP    Spider-Verse 3 producers know it's taking a long time: "There's no one that puts more pressure on us than ourselves"    Stardew Valley creator ConcernedApe reveals "pretty cool" in-game farm map that was ultimately cut    Nearly 50 years later, notorious horror film Faces of Death gets a reboot that channels the violence of the original    Stardew Valley creator reveals 14-year-old footage of Sprout Valley, a technically "functioning game"    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

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