Highguard Is Shutting Down on March 12, Just 45 Days After Launch

Forty-five days. That's how long Highguard lasted.

Wildlight Entertainment announced on X that its free-to-play raid shooter is going dark on March 12, 2026, bringing one of the fastest live-service collapses in recent memory to a close. The studio said, "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."

More than 2 million players stepped into Highguard across its short life , which makes the shutdown feel all the more deflating for those who stuck around.

One Last Update Before the Lights Go Out

Before the servers go offline, Wildlight is pushing out a final patch. The update adds a new Warden, a new weapon, account level progression, and skill trees. Wildlight said on Discord, "Very bummed about today's news. I'm sorry we didn't have more time to continue to fix the gameplay issues and make Highguard as good as possible for everyone."

It's a bittersweet set of additions. Skill trees and account progression are exactly the kind of hooks that keep players logging in. The fact they're arriving on the way out the door says a lot about how things unravelled here.

How Did It Come to This?

Highguard peaked at 97,000 concurrent players on Steam when it launched on January 26, 2026 , which looked promising. But that number fell off a cliff within days.

One common criticism was the 3v3 format and the amount of downtime it created when playing on large open maps. Wildlight tried to address it by adding a permanent 5v5 mode in the game's second weekend, but the damage was already done.

Just 16 days after launch, developers came forward to confirm layoffs had hit the studio, leaving a core group to support the game. Then came reports that Highguard was quietly financed by Tencent through its TiMi Studio Group, funding that was pulled shortly before the layoffs.

A Bloomberg report suggested the game's complex nature, inadequate testing, and "hubris" was to blame for its downfall. Studio leadership reportedly rejected the idea of public playtesting, supposedly wanting to replicate the successful surprise release of Apex Legends. That gamble did not pay off.

Wildlight had a full year's worth of DLC planned for Highguard, but that content is now seemingly cancelled. The studio's CEO, Dusty Welch, had said before launch, "What we're confident in is that we're not going anywhere."

Aged poorly, to put it gently.

Another One for the Live-Service Graveyard

By the time Highguard goes offline, it will have been available for exactly 46 days. Concord's nine days still holds the crown for shortest live-service lifespan, but Highguard is not far behind, and the two games share more in common than just a quick death. Both came from studios packed with industry veterans. Both launched with confidence. Both lost their audiences before they had a chance to course-correct.

If you played Highguard and want one final session, March 12 is your last chance.

Wildlight closed out their statement with: "From all of us at Wildlight, thank you for playing, for supporting us, and for being part of Highguard's story."