Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group reportedly served as the “lead financial backer” of Highguard developer Wildlight Entertainment.

That’s according to Game File, which reports that funding details are unclear, including if or when it ended.

Sources familiar with the matter did not specify why the financial relationship was kept secret or the scale of TiMi’s involvement.

Neither Tencent nor Wildlight have addressed the funding, and representatives for both companies “did not provide a comment by press time.”

Wildlight was formed in 2023 by a group of former Respawn Entertainment devs. At the time, the studio said it was “fully funded” and “quietly working on a new IP.”

In recent interviews, Wildlight CEO and founder Dusty Welch said the developer was “an independent studio without the support of a big organisation” and that it doesn’t ” speak publicly about [its] business, economics, and financials.”

Tencent has investments across Western gaming companies, including a minority stake in Epic Games and a majority stake in Riot Games. It recently invested over $1 billion into Ubisoft subsidiary Vantage Studios.

News of potential financial backing from Tencent comes after Wildlight laid off an unspecified number of employees last week.

“We made an incredibly difficult decision to part ways with a number of our team members while keeping a core group of developers to continue innovating on and supporting the game,” the developer said.

Following Highguard’s mixed reception at launch, Wildguard’s CEO said he wished the game “had been received better” following its reveal at The Game Awards last December.