Highguard servers to shut down on March 12, just 45 days after launch

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Wildlight Entertainment announced that its online shooter game, Highguard, will stop running permanently on March 12, 2026. This means the game will only be available for a little over a month – it launched on January 26, 2026, and servers will be shut down after just 45 days.

The studio announced the news on X, thanking players for their initial support of the game. They acknowledged that over 2 million people have played since launch, and expressed gratitude for the feedback, content creation, and belief players showed in the game’s development.

— Highguard (@PlayHighguard) March 3, 2026

The studio shared that the game won’t stay online for long because they haven’t been able to attract enough players to keep it running. The servers will be switched off on March 12th. They’re encouraging players to enjoy the game one last time and show their support while it’s still available.

The team will release one last update for the game before it shuts down. This update, expected tonight or tomorrow, will include new content like a new character (Warden), a new weapon, skill trees, and other improvements. After the update is released, the game servers will stay online until the final shutdown date.

Highguard was first shown to the public during The Game Awards in December 2026. The reveal quickly sparked discussion within the gaming world, largely due to the fact that it came from Wildlight Entertainment—a new studio formed by veterans of popular franchises like Apex Legends, Call of Duty, and Titanfall. This game marked Wildlight’s debut release after four years of development.

Project reports indicated that Tencent provided some funding. Details about this financial support and concerns regarding issues with how the game was developed emerged as industry insiders tried to figure out why it didn’t perform well after its release.

The game quickly attracted over 2 million players when it first launched, but PC player activity dropped off rapidly. Recent data from SteamDB shows that Highguard typically had only a few hundred players online each day on PC.

Shortly after the game launched, the studio underwent significant changes. In February, Wildlight drastically reduced its workforce, retaining only a small, essential team. Soon after, the game’s website went down, causing players to worry the project might be cancelled.

It’s really frustrating to see another live service game get shut down so quickly. It feels like we’re seeing this happen a lot lately! I was especially disappointed with Concord – a sci-fi shooter from Sony that was taken offline after just two weeks, even though they worked on it for eight years! And it wasn’t just Concord, either. Riot’s fighting game, 2XKO, also had issues, with layoffs happening to the team shortly after it launched. It makes you wonder what’s going on and whether these games are even getting a fair chance.

Game companies are still focused on creating ‘live service’ games – titles that keep players engaged for a long time – because games like Fortnite are incredibly popular and consistently profitable. But launching a successful live service game is proving to be very challenging, as many new games struggle to keep players coming back. While a few, like Arc Raiders, have managed to gain traction, these successes are still rare.

Companies beyond those traditionally known for multiplayer games are also trying to create ongoing, live-service experiences. For example, Remedy Entertainment, the studio behind Alan Wake, has experimented with this model, but their attempts haven’t been very successful so far.

Even though similar projects have been canceled and studios have shut down, companies are still developing new games in this genre. Sony, for instance, is still working on titles like Marathon and a cooperative Horizon game.

When the game was announced to be shutting down, players on X (formerly Twitter) shared a variety of responses. One player expressed sadness and frustration, saying it was a waste of effort, talent, and resources, and sympathized with the developers who worked hard on the game only to have it cancelled.

God what a waste of so much time, talent, and money

Genuinely feel so bad for the devs who work so hard on major AAA games and just get shafted.

Too common of a story these days.

— Re;MATCH LIVE on Kickstarter Now! (@BrotherMingGame) March 3, 2026

Another user commented, “We are witnessing the era of two month lifespan shooters.”

We are witnessing the era of 2 month lifespan shooters

— Colin (@IntroSpecktive) March 3, 2026

Game Developer reached out to Wildlight Entertainment for a statement and will update their report if they receive one.

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2026-03-05 10:17