Highguard is set to go offline less than two months after its launch.
Wildlight Entertainment has confirmed that Highguard will permanently shut down on 12 March, with one final update set to be released before the servers officially go offline. Developers have cited the dwindling player base as the key reason they were unable to sustain Highguard in the long term.
“Today we’re sharing difficult news. We have made the decision to permanently shut down Highguard on March 12.” Wildlight announced via the game’s official X account. “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. Servers will remain online until March 12th.”
The Game Director at Wildlight Entertainment, Chad Grenier, also stated that the studio did not generate “enough revenue to keep anyone employed to work on it” in response to a comment on his X account.
Before bidding farewell to the game, the developers will roll out one final update, introducing a new Warden, a new weapon, account level progression, and additional skill trees.
Highguard’s rapid decline–from The Game Awards hype to eventual shutdown
Highguard has endured one of the most disastrous launch stories in recent gaming memory.
Highguard didn’t start the traditional way–getting a prominent final showcase at The Game Awards with no prior advertisement, and host Geoff Keighley personally announcing the mysterious shooter months before launch. With the developers of Titanfall and Apex Legends behind the shooter, and its major TGA reveal, Highguard was placed squarely in the public spotlight.
Following its first reveal, the game was quickly shot down by the gaming community, with many questioning its approach and direction. At launch however, Highguard attracted nearly 100,000 players on Steam, boosted by its free-to-play model and general curiosity stemming from its hype.
However, it was quickly bombarded with negative reviews, as gamers roasted the game's underbaked feel. While some believed the core gameplay had potential, many argued that in an increasingly saturated shooter market, Highguard failed to stand out. Player numbers declined sharply soon after, and its concurrent players has remained below thousands in the past week. Layoffs at Wildlight also followed, fuelling even greater criticism.
Despite the disastrous launch, things initially seemed to be moving in the right direction for Highguard, with developers focusing on improving content and adding new features. In recent weeks, the game introduced highly requested additions, including a 5v5 mode, new tools, weapon balancing adjustments, and more. A DLC roadmap was also unveiled, promising waves of new content every two months.
Only two weeks ago, a Highguard developer dismissed rumours of a shutdown, making the game’s now-confirmed closure an even bigger surprise.
With yet another multiplayer shooter shutting down just weeks after release–reminiscent of Concord’s troubled launch in 2024–attention now turns to the upcoming title Marathon. The game has generated significant buzz in recent days, ranking among the best-sellers on Steam ahead of its 5 March release. Many are watching closely to see whether it can break what some are calling the “shooter curse.”
