It is no secret that Highguard had a critically rocky launch. What had been a secret — till in the present day — is the place the struggling “raid shooter” acquired its funding. The sport’s developer and writer, Wildlight Leisure, has repeatedly referred to the sport as “absolutely funded,” however by no means disclosed {that a} majority of that funding got here from China’s gaming powerhouse Tencent. In line with nameless sources who spoke to GameFile journalist Stephen Totilo, Tencent was the sport’s largest monetary backer.
Tencent is the world’s largest online game firm, with an enormous funding portfolio together with video games like PUBG Cellular and League of Legends. It additionally holds stakes in plenty of worldwide gaming corporations, together with Epic Video games, Ubisoft, and plenty of extra. Per nameless sources conversant in the association, TenCent’s TiMi studio group was accountable for backing Highguard‘s growth. The explanation for the secrecy relating to the association is unclear, and it isn’t identified precisely how a lot TiMi contributed to the undertaking, although Totilo’s sources point out it was a major quantity of funding.
Highguard was first introduced through a trailer throughout the finale of 2025’s The Recreation Awards, a spot which Wildlight says was provided to the studio totally free by host and creator Geoff Keighley. Keighley gave the impression to be fairly excited in regards to the upcoming recreation, which he personally playtested. Tencent senior vice chairman Steven Ma is a member of The Recreation Awards’ advisory board.
Neither Wildlight Leisure nor Tencent have disclosed the partnership publicly, and whereas we do not know precisely how a lot it price to make Highguard, one can think about it wasn’t low-cost. The sport launched with in depth plans for future seasons, superbly animated lore cinematics, and appeared poised to proceed rolling out updates regardless of largely detrimental reception from gamers. Wildlight has two bodily areas, one in LA, one other in Seattle. Till current layoffs diminished it to a skeleton crew of builders, the studio had about 100 staff, a lot of whom have been former Respawn Leisure builders. It is unclear if Tencent performed an element within the studio’s choice to put off so many staff so quickly after launch. Earlier in the present day, Highguard‘s official web site appeared to have been taken offline.
Reps from Wildlight Leisure didn’t reply to Polygon’s request for remark.
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