Wildlight Entertainment, the studio behind the free-to-play FPS 'Highguard' that launched on Steam on 27 January, has slashed a significant portion of its workforce just 16 days after release. Ever since the game went live, it has been met with brutal criticism, which seems to have triggered a mass exodus of players.

The news of these layoffs broke on the 12th when Alex Graner, a level designer for Highguard, took to LinkedIn to share the grim reality. He revealed that the majority of the team, himself included, were being let go. Graner expressed particular disappointment, noting that much of the unreleased content they had poured their hearts into would now never see the light of day. Other key staff, including software engineers and UI designers, soon followed with their own announcements of departure.

When VGC (videogameschronicle) reached out to Wildlight Studios for comment, it was confirmed that while the studio isn't closing its doors entirely, the vast majority of the development staff have been shown the exit. In a statement to VGC, a spokesperson for Wildlight Studios offered what one might call the standard corporate boilerplate: "Today, we made the incredibly difficult decision to part ways with some of our colleagues, retaining only a core team to continue innovation and support for the game. We are deeply proud of the team we’ve built, the talent involved, and the product we’ve created together. We also extend our sincere gratitude to those who played our game and to the players who remain part of our community today."