{"id":16964,"date":"2026-02-22T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/?p=16964"},"modified":"2026-02-21T21:27:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T14:27:17","slug":"highguard-layoffs-website-down-dev-controversy-patch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/highguard-layoffs-website-down-dev-controversy-patch\/","title":{"rendered":"Highguard Dying, Developer Blames Gamers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Highguard, a free-to-play multiplayer shooter game from Wildlight Entertainment, is going through a rough patch a few weeks after its release. The story isn't just about falling player numbers and rumored layoffs, but also about the studio's communication hiccups and the developer's controversy on social media. The combination of these things left many players asking: Will Highguard continue to run normally or will it enter a \u201csurvival mode\u201d phase?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/highguard-steam-lost-80-percent-players-in-24-hours\/\">Highguard Lost 80% Players in 24 Hours<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Serious Mode<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/highguard-layoffs-website-down-dev-controversy-patch\/#PHK_di_Wildlight_dan_Dampaknya_ke_Arah_Pengembangan\" >Layoffs at Wildlight and the Impact on Development Direction<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/highguard-layoffs-website-down-dev-controversy-patch\/#Jumlah_Pemain_Semakin_Sedikit_dan_Website_Down\" >Fewer Players and Website Down<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/highguard-layoffs-website-down-dev-controversy-patch\/#Kontroversi_Postingan_Dev_%E2%80%9CBlame_the_gamers%E2%80%9D_Jadi_Bumerang\" >Dev's Controversial Post: \u201cBlame the gamers\u201d Backfires<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"PHK_di_Wildlight_dan_Dampaknya_ke_Arah_Pengembangan\"><\/span>Layoffs at Wildlight and the Impact on Development Direction<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/highguard-studio-wildlight-hit-with-layoffs\" title=\"\">IGN <\/a>reported that Wildlight Entertainment was hit by a wave of layoffs just about two weeks after Highguard's release on January 26, 2026. A former senior level designer wrote on LinkedIn that he, along with most of the team, was affected. Wildlight later confirmed they parted ways with a number of team members, while retaining a core group of developers to continue supporting the game. In a live-service game, decisions like this usually directly affect the pace of updates, the prioritization of features, and the ability to maintain gameplay and matchmaking stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Jumlah_Pemain_Semakin_Sedikit_dan_Website_Down\"><\/span>Fewer Players and Website Down<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to IGN, citing SteamDB, Highguard reached a high peak of concurrent players on release day, then dropped sharply in a short period of time. IGN also noted that the drop occurred quickly after launch. A drop in player base can trigger a chain effect: matchmaking becomes less healthy, the variety of opponents gets narrower, and the game experience feels harder for both new and returning players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Community concerns were heightened when Highguard's official website displayed a \u201csite unavailable\u201d message. IGN reported that a Discord admin or moderator associated with Wildlight said the website would be back online, but the fix was considered \u201clow priority\u201d as the team focused on updates and content. The message also said the website needed to be moved and simplified. From a player's perspective, a down website is often read as a signal of shutdown, although the cause could be technical or operational changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Kontroversi_Postingan_Dev_%E2%80%9CBlame_the_gamers%E2%80%9D_Jadi_Bumerang\"><\/span>Dev's Controversial Post: \u201cBlame the gamers\u201d Backfires<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only that, developer Highguard also made the situation worse. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.notebookcheck.net\/Blame-the-gamers-backfires-Highguard-dev-s-tirade-over-reviews-and-memes-draws-heavy-criticism.1228244.0.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Notebookcheck<\/a>, A Highguard developer is said to have made a long post on X that was later deleted, containing complaints about reviews, memes, and community and content creator responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The post highlights how a \u201cblame the gamers\u201d narrative triggers backlash and worsens the reputation situation. In a gaming landscape that is under scrutiny due to layoffs and player decline, this kind of communication polemic can accelerate the loss of trust, as players judge not only the product, but also the way developers respond to feedback.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highguard, sebuah game free-to-play multiplayer shooter dari Wildlight Entertainment, lagi melewati masa yang tidak enak beberapa minggu setelah rilis. Ceritanya bukan cuma soal angka pemain yang turun dan kabar PHK, tapi juga soal komunikasi studio yang tersendat dan munculnya kontroversi dari pihak developer di media sosial. Kombinasi hal-hal ini bikin banyak pemain bertanya: Highguard masih [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,5],"tags":[10,65],"class_list":["post-16964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games","category-news","tag-game","tag-news"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0x0.webp","author_info":{"display_name":"Moeka","author_link":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/author\/playeatsleep-fun\/"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16965,"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16964\/revisions\/16965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playeatsleep.fun\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}