Highguard’s 5v5 Raid Mode Has Been Added Permanently

The recent release of Highguard sparked debate, mainly about how players were grouped. The game initially limited each ‘raid’ to six players – three per team – which made the world feel sparse and the gameplay uneven. Within days, the developers at Wildlight responded by adding a more common 5v5 mode.

Wildlight initially launched 5v5 as a trial, but it proved popular and is now a permanent game mode.

Will 5v5 Do Anything to Save Highguard?

Highguard is losing players quickly, and the community is becoming increasingly discouraged. Viewership numbers are almost nonexistent, and even the developers’ plans for the future haven’t been enough to reassure dedicated fans.

Highguard was released last week after a quiet period following its initial announcement at The Game Awards. Unfortunately, the game didn’t improve the negative reaction it received, and many gamers remain disappointed.

When people learned the new first-person shooter would only allow six players in each game, many wondered if the matches would be substantial enough.

Then, along came Wildlight Entertainment, with an idea to trial a 5v5 mode.

In a post on social media, Wildlight confirmed the trial was a success:

You’ve been asking, and we’re happy to share—5v5 Raid Mode is here to stay!

Thanks to everyone who played the new mode over the weekend! We noticed a good balance of players trying both the 3v3 and 5v5 versions, and that feedback was really helpful in making our next steps.

So, everyone in the comments was trying to be optimistic about the recent changes, saying it would bring in more casual players and make the game more popular. But honestly, we haven’t seen that happen – the player numbers haven’t really gone up at all. It’s a bit disappointing, to be real.

Written by

Grant Taylor-Hill

Senior Editor and Esports Lead

Grant first fell in love with gaming in 1996 on the Amstrad CPC. Today, he’s a skilled gamer across many platforms, deeply passionate about both the gaming world and competitive esports.

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2026-02-03 02:48