Wildlight will permanently shut down Highguard on March 12, 2026, following a 45-day run, and will release a final update featuring a new Warden, weapon, account level progression, and skill trees.
The decision stems from an inability to establish a sustainable player base despite over 2 million initial players, according to Wildlight’s announcement on X/Twitter.
- Shutdown Date: March 12, 2026
- Final Update: New Warden, weapon, account levels, skill trees
- Player Base: Exceeded 2 million players at launch
- Reason: Unsustainable player retention
Prior to launch at The Game Awards 2025, developer concerns regarding marketing and initial reception surfaced, with one former employee stating the game was considered “dead on arrival” due to a million-dollar ad placement. Despite initial Steam concurrent player peaks near 100,000, Highguard received “mostly negative” user reviews.
Wildlight attempted to address player feedback with updates, including a 5v5 game mode, but ultimately faced studio-wide layoffs. Tencent quietly backed the project.
