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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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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