TL;DR — Highguard Shutdown
Table of Contents
Game Awards 2025 Reveal Context
Before it even launched, Highguard had a lot of hype behind it. It was revealed at The Game Awards in December 2025 as the very last world premiere of the show. That closing slot is usually saved for the most anticipated announcements. It was a signal that this was supposed to be a big deal.
— Highguard (@PlayHighguard) March 3, 2026
And the expectations weren’t baseless. Wildlight Entertainment is an independent game studio built by veterans of Apex Legends and Call of Duty. The studio’s debut game landing the closing slot at The Game Awards felt like a stamp of approval. If any new studio could pull it off, it seemed like Wildlight could.
Highguard Player Count Steam Decline
The game had a promising start. On launch day, it peaked at nearly 100,000 concurrent players on Steam. It attracted around 2,000,000 players across its short life.
Unfortunately, the numbers fell fast. By mid-February, daily peaks on Steam had dropped to around 1,600. By the end of the month, they were below 600.
Tencent Funding Pulled, Highguard Layoffs Developer Team
Things got worse behind the scenes, too. Despite marketing itself as an independent studio, Wildlight was reportedly backed by Tencent’s TiMi Studio Group, something the studio had never publicly disclosed.
Tencent pulled its funding after the game’s poor launch. Its support was reportedly tied to the game hitting certain performance targets. When it didn’t, the money dried up.
Just two weeks after launch, Wildlight laid off all but a small core group of developers. The studio went from around 100 employees to fewer than 20 almost overnight.
Multiplayer Shooter Market Saturation
Highguard was trying to do a lot at once. FPS combat, MOBA mechanics, base building, resource gathering, hero abilities… It was an ambitious mix, but it didn’t quite come together. For many players, the result felt messy and hard to get into.
A more focused game might have had a fighting chance. But the market was already packed with games fighting for the same players. Highguard never stood a chance.
Going Out With a Bang
Before the servers go dark, Wildlight is releasing one final update. The team is adding a new Warden, a new weapon, account-level progression, and skill trees.
In their announcement, Wildlight encouraged players to jump in one last time and get some final matches in while they still can.