Trending Now - Highguard Game Faces Shutdown Following Financial Struggles

WHO:

Developer: Wildlight Entertainment

CEO: Dusty Welch

Game Director: Chad Grenier

Notable developer: Josh Sobel

Over 2 million players engaged with Highguard

WHAT:

Highguard will permanently shut down on March 12, 2026.

A final update will be released before the shutdown, adding:

A new Warden character

A new weapon

Account level progression

Skill trees

Highguard launched on January 26, 2026.

The game had a peak of nearly 100,000 concurrent players at launch.

The game received over 14,000 review bombs shortly after launch.

Average play session lasted 91 minutes, with an average of 3.48 matches per session.

The game was available for a total of 46 days before shutdown.

WHERE:

Highguard was available on multiple platforms, with the largest player base on PlayStation, followed by Xbox and Steam.

The United States had the largest player base, followed by Japan.

WHEN:

Highguard was announced at The Game Awards on December 7, 2025.

The game launched on January 26, 2026.

The final update is expected to be released on March 4 or March 5, 2026.

The game will shut down on March 12, 2026.

WHY:

Wildlight stated they could not build a sustainable player base to support the game long term.

Tencent reportedly pulled funding shortly after launch due to missed metrics, leading to layoffs at Wildlight.

Chad Grenier stated there was "not enough revenue to keep anyone employed to work on it."

HOW:

Wildlight attempted to address player complaints by adding a 5v5 game mode and other content updates.

The final update was developed by a remaining "skeleton crew" of about 20 developers who worked to complete the content despite the impending shutdown.

Highguard, developed by Wildlight Entertainment and directed by Chad Grenier, will permanently shut down on March 12, 2026, after just 46 days of availability. Before the shutdown, a final update is set to be released, introducing a new Warden character, a new weapon, account level progression, and skill trees, all developed by a small team of about 20 remaining developers. Despite launching with nearly 100,000 concurrent players and engaging over 2 million players, the game struggled to maintain a sustainable player base, leading to its early closure following significant funding issues and player feedback.