It’s no secret that Highguard had a seriously rocky launch. What had been a secret — until today — is where the struggling “raid shooter” got its funding. The game’s developer and publisher, Wildlight Entertainment, has repeatedly referred to the game as “fully funded,” but never disclosed that a majority of that funding came from China’s gaming powerhouse Tencent. According to anonymous sources who spoke to GameFile journalist Stephen Totilo, Tencent was the game’s biggest financial backer.

Tencent is the world’s largest video game company, with a massive investment portfolio including games like PUBG Mobile and League of Legends. It also holds stakes in a number of international gaming companies, including Epic Games, Ubisoft, and many more. Per anonymous sources familiar with the arrangement, TenCent’s TiMi studio group was responsible for backing Highguard‘s development. The reason for the secrecy regarding the arrangement is unclear, and it’s not known exactly how much TiMi contributed to the project, though Totilo’s sources indicate it was a significant amount of funding.

Highguard was first announced via a trailer during the finale of 2025’s The Game Awards, a spot which Wildlight says was offered to the studio for free by host and creator Geoff Keighley. Keighley appeared to be quite excited about the upcoming game, which he personally playtested. Tencent senior vice president Steven Ma is a member of The Game Awards’ advisory board.

Neither Wildlight Entertainment nor Tencent have disclosed the partnership publicly, and while we don’t know exactly how much it cost to make Highguard, one can imagine it wasn’t cheap. The game launched with extensive plans for future seasons, beautifully animated lore cinematics, and seemed poised to continue rolling out updates despite largely negative reception from players. Wildlight has two physical locations, one in LA, another in Seattle. Until recent layoffs reduced it to a skeleton crew of developers, the studio had about 100 employees, many of whom were former Respawn Entertainment developers. It’s unclear if Tencent played a part in the studio’s decision to lay off so many employees so soon after launch. Earlier today, Highguard‘s official website appeared to have been taken offline.

Reps from Wildlight Entertainment did not respond to Polygon’s request for comment.