"We were turned into a joke from minute one" - fired Highguard developer reflects on game's ill-fated launch and "false assumptions" after Game Awards reveal

Wildlight laid off multiple developers weeks after Highguard's January launch, following its Game Awards reveal. Lead technical artist Josh Sobel attributed the failure to negative discourse and "false assumptions" about the game's $1M ad placement, which he says triggered immediate review bombing and meme culture backlash. A "core group" remains supporting the game.

Appeared in 2026-02-16.