Tencent’s TiMi may have quietly funded Highguard studio Wildlight Entertainment

A new report claims Tencent’s TiMi Studio Group was the “lead financial backer” behind Wildlight Entertainment, the Respawn-founded studio that made Highguard. The details are still murky, including how big TiMi’s role was and whether that funding is ongoing.

The claim comes from Game File’s report, which says sources familiar with the situation wouldn’t pin down the scale of TiMi’s involvement or explain why the relationship wasn’t public. Neither Tencent nor Wildlight commented, according to the report.

Wildlight was formed in 2023 by former Respawn Entertainment developers. When the studio was announced, it described itself as “fully funded” while working on a new IP. More recently, CEO and founder Dusty Welch has described Wildlight as an independent studio, and has said the team doesn’t talk publicly about its finances.

The timing is notable. Wildlight confirmed layoffs last week, saying it had “part[ed] ways with a number of our team members” while keeping a smaller core team to keep working on and supporting Highguard. The studio didn’t say how many people were affected.

This also lands after a rougher-than-hoped start for the game. After Highguard drew mixed reactions around launch, Welch said he wished it “had been received better” following its reveal at The Game Awards last December.