Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says no, Geoff Keighley isn't to blame for Highguard and its mass layoffs – and folks who think so have "little understanding" of the industry

As Highguard studio Wildlight Entertainment suffers mass layoffs in the wake of the game's negative reception, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael 'Cromwelp' Douse has addressed the circulating discussions that it's Game Awards host Geoff Keighley's fault.

Highguard, the new free-to-play shooter from Wildlight Entertainment, hasn't exactly been in the limelight for a good reason recently, racking up "Mostly Negative" reviews on Steam in mere hours post-launch and not quite reaching players like developers hoped it would.

After this poor performance, level designer Alex Graner announced on LinkedIn that "most of the team at Wildlight" had been laid off – so, sadly, things aren't exactly looking up.

With all of this in mind, folks have been pointing the blame at Keighley as he shared his own interest in the game previously, going as far as alleging that he somehow had a personal financial stake in the shooter. These theories are out there, to say the least, and Douse thinks so, too.

"The Highguard layoffs, like many others, are a sad reminder of the economic instability of an industry that asks the world but promises little," he writes in a new post.

The Highguard layoffs, like many others, are a sad reminder of the economic instability of an industry that asks the world but promises little. That said, blaming one man for showing a trailer on his telly show is a sophomoric take that shows little understanding of industry!February 12, 2026

The Larian dev continues, explaining that blaming Keighley stems from an uninformed point of view: "That said, blaming one man for showing a trailer on his telly show is a sophomoric take that shows little understanding of industry!"

Honestly, I'd have to agree here with Douse – sometimes, games just don't land, and that can be due to a plethora of reasons. Concord comes to mind, and players' reactions were nothing short of all over the place then, either.

Douse expands on his thoughts in a direct response to Keighley's own thread regarding the Wildlight layoffs, writing, "I think it's cool to give games you personally like a chance within your means. Publishers put out games they believe in, and the majority, sadly, don't do the numbers they wished they did. The reality is that what we love isn't always successful. I hope they can move to success."

It's certainly sad, but I'd say it's 100% true.

Looking for something to wishlist now? Be sure to browse our roundup of the best new games coming this year and beyond for fresh titles to anticipate.

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