A recent live-service shooter is exiting the gaming world faster than expected. Highguard, a free-to-play squad shooter from Wildlight Entertainment, will permanently shut down on March 12, 2026, lasting just around 45 days after its January 26, 2026 launch.
The Initial Hype Surrounding the Reveal
Expectations were high when Highguard was unveiled at The Game Awards in December. The development team included veterans from franchises like Apex Legends, Call of Duty, and Titanfall, and reports indicated significant investment in the project.
The concept centered around a tactical, squad-based shooter designed as a live-service game, intended to expand over time with new content. Rather than a lengthy marketing campaign, the team opted for a quick release, aiming to win over the community with gameplay rather than promises. This approach reflects a growing trend in the gaming industry to prioritize immediate player experience.
This strategy closely mirrored the successful “shadow drop” of Apex Legends in 2019, which became a massive hit. Highguard aimed to replicate that effect.
A Strong Start That Quickly Faded
The launch initially appeared promising. According to data from SteamDB, the game peaked at nearly 100,000 concurrent players at launch, with over two million players trying the free-to-play shooter overall. Still, those numbers didn’t hold.
Shortly after release, Steam reviews became increasingly negative. Players criticized the game’s complexity, balance issues, and lack of onboarding for new players.
Simultaneously, the player count rapidly declined. Tracking sites eventually showed only a few hundred concurrent players remaining. For a multiplayer game reliant on active matches, this was effectively a death sentence.
A Problem Common to Many Live-Service Games
The fate of Highguard highlights a key risk inherent in modern online games. The business model depends on maintaining a large and active community that continuously spends money through microtransactions.
When players leave, a downward spiral begins:
- fewer active matches
- less revenue
- fewer resources for updates
- even fewer players
Wildlight Entertainment explained in a statement: “Despite the passion and hard function of our team, we were unable to build a sustainable player base to support the game long-term.”
Before the servers shut down, a final patch is scheduled to release, including a new character and weapon – a glimpse of content originally planned for the future.
Highguard heavily relied on the element of surprise, largely forgoing extended alpha or beta phases with the community. Many multiplayer games, however, build an engaged player base months before release, gathering feedback and addressing gameplay issues early on.
This phase was largely absent for Highguard. Some developers later reported that the game functioned much better during internal playtests, as teams communicated via voice chat and developers were present to answer questions. These supports were missing in the live environment.
The result: new players often felt overwhelmed and quickly abandoned the game.
Financial Issues Behind the Scenes
The project also reportedly faced financial difficulties. According to industry reports, a significant portion of the team was laid off in February. The project was reportedly backed by capital from China, which was withdrawn following the weak launch.
Without this funding, only a small remaining team was left to prepare the final updates and the shutdown.
Highguard Is Not an Isolated Case
Although the ending feels abrupt, it fits a larger pattern in the industry.
Live-service games are an all-or-nothing bet. Those that achieve a breakthrough generate enormous revenue for years, as demonstrated by examples like:
- Fortnite
- League of Legends
- Counter-Strike
However, the list of failed projects is also steadily growing. Amazon’s shooter Crucible was discontinued after a few months. Sony’s sci-fi shooter Concord survived just two weeks.
The Live-Service Dream Continues
Despite numerous failures, studios continue to invest heavily in this model. The reason is clear: successful live-service games dominate the playtime of many gamers for years.
While projects like Highguard fail, other studios continue to try their luck with new multiplayer concepts. For Wildlight Entertainment and Highguard, however, this story ends after just a few weeks. The servers will move offline permanently on March 12.
Another example of how difficult it has turn into to gain a foothold in the modern live-service market.
