Highguard Developers Announce Shutdown After Game Fails to Connect with Players

The curtain is falling on Highguard. Wildlight Entertainment announced on Tuesday that its free-to-play “raid shooter” will officially cease operations. Developed by a team of veterans from the Apex Legends and Call of Duty franchises, the title is scheduled to go dark on March 12, when its servers will be permanently decommissioned.

In a candid statement shared on X, Wildlight explained that despite the developers’ dedication, the game failed to cultivate a sustainable community. “Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term,” the studio noted. They encouraged remaining fans to log in for a final series of matches before the mid-March deadline.

Before the lights go out, the studio is rolling out one final content drop later this week. This parting gift includes a fresh Warden, an additional weapon, a revamped account progression system, and new skill trees intended to provide a more complete experience for the game’s final days.

Highguard’s path to market was unconventional. While the developers initially considered a surprise launch—echoing the 2019 debut of Apex Legends—they instead opted for a high-profile reveal at The Game Awards 2025. Founder and CEO Dusty Welch later admitted to Polygon that this marketing pivot was perhaps a “risky” gamble in retrospect. Following a period of relative radio silence, the game arrived on Jan. 26 to a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

The initial reception was massive, with Steam concurrency numbers peaking near 100,000. However, this momentum proved ephemeral. While Steam data only reflects a portion of the audience—Highguard was also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X—the figures illustrate a story of rapid atrophy. By its first weekend, the Steam player count had dipped to 15,000; a month later, it struggled to attract even 1,000 simultaneous users. In its final days, that number has dwindled to fewer than 500.

Wildlight attempted several course corrections to stop the bleeding. They introduced a permanent 5v5 mode to address complaints regarding the game’s pacing and added new playable “Wardens” to freshen the meta. Another February update even stripped away the looting and preparation phases to get players into the action faster. Unfortunately, these mechanical shifts were not enough to recapture the audience’s interest.

Critics also noted that the game suffered from a bit of an identity crisis. In our own assessment, reviewer Ford James suggested the project was weighed down by “too many ideas.” The game attempted to fuse MOBA-style base destruction with Rainbow Six Siege-esque fortifications, Overwatch-inspired hero abilities, and survival-style resource gathering. This genre-bending approach resulted in disjointed pacing that obscured the polished gunplay beneath.

The writing was on the wall shortly after launch when reports surfaced that the majority of the staff had been laid off. According to Bloomberg, financial backer Tencent withdrew its support after Highguard failed to meet strict internal performance targets, specifically regarding player retention. Ultimately, the inability to keep players coming back proved fatal for the ambitious shooter.

Source: Polygon