Highguard Shuts Down March 12, Final Update Adds Warden & Skill Trees
â–¼ Summary
– Wildlight is permanently shutting down its game Highguard on March 12, 2024, after failing to build a sustainable player base.
– A final update will be released before shutdown, adding a new Warden, weapon, account progression, and skill trees.
– The game faced severe backlash and review bombing after its high-profile reveal at The Game Awards 2025, being labeled “dead on arrival.”
– Despite a strong launch with nearly 100,000 concurrent Steam players, it maintained a “mostly negative” user review rating.
– IGN’s review scored it 7/10, praising its gunplay and potential but noting it lacked content and felt unfinished.
The online multiplayer game Highguard will permanently shut down its servers on March 12, developer Wildlight has confirmed. In a final gesture to its community, the studio plans to release one last major update before the closure. This final patch will introduce a new Warden character, a new weapon, a comprehensive account level progression system, and skill trees for players to explore in the game’s remaining weeks. Wildlight expressed deep gratitude to the over two million players who participated in the game’s world, but stated that despite the team’s passion and effort, they were unable to establish a sustainable player base necessary for long-term support.
The announcement was made via social media, where the studio encouraged fans to join for some final matches. The update is slated for release imminently, with full patch notes to follow. Wildlight’s journey with Highguard was notably turbulent from its very beginning. The game was featured as the grand finale reveal at The Game Awards 2025, a coveted spot secured after host Geoff Keighley enjoyed his hands-on time with it. However, this high-profile debut was met with immediate and significant backlash online.
Former developer Josh Sobel, who worked on Highguard before being let go, shed light on the challenging launch period. He described how the game and its team “turned into a joke from minute one,” attributing much of the negative sentiment to perceptions surrounding its prominent advertising placement. Social media channels were quickly flooded with downvotes and repetitive critical memes, comparing the title unfavorably to other games. Upon its January 26, 2026 launch on Steam, the game was review-bombed with over 14,000 negative reviews from users who often had less than an hour of playtime.
Despite this rocky start, Highguard initially attracted nearly 100,000 concurrent players on Steam, demonstrating a strong initial curiosity. Yet, it struggled to shake its “mostly negative” user review rating. The development team at Wildgate worked to address feedback, notably adding a 5v5 mode in response to criticism of the core 3v3 format. These efforts were followed by reports of widespread layoffs at the studio, though the game remained operational. Further reports revealed that the project had been quietly backed by the gaming giant Tencent.
In its brief 45-day lifespan, Highguard received a mixed critical reception. IGN’s review scored it a 7 out of 10, praising its compelling gunplay, fast update pace, and exciting Raid mode, while noting it felt like a promising but incomplete foundation. The review highlighted that the competitive matches had potential but were held back by maps that could feel empty and a lack of substantial content, with only nine characters and a handful of maps at launch. The reviewer concluded that the core experience was fun and had the makings of something stellar, a potential that will now remain unrealized as the servers prepare to go dark for good.
(Source: IGN)
