Highguard was released recently, but in the first hours after its release, it received "mostly negative" reviews on Steam. The game failed to attract the expected audience, which ultimately led to serious consequences for the development team. Level designer Alex Grainer announced on his business social network page that "most of the Wildlight team" had been laid off.
Against the backdrop of these events, theories began to circulate on social networks that Jeff Keely was to blame for the failure. He had previously publicly expressed interest in the project and showed it on his show, which led some users to even suggest that he might have a personal financial interest in Highguard's success.
Larian Studios Publishing Director Michael "Cromwelp" Douse spoke out against such accusations. According to him, the layoffs at Wildlight — like many others in the industry — are "a sad reminder of the economic instability of an industry that asks for a lot but promises almost nothing in return".
He also stressed that blaming one person for showing a trailer is a superficial and unprofessional approach.
Blaming one person for showing a trailer on his television show is an infantile position that demonstrates a poor understanding of the industry.