Highguard to Permanently Shut Down on March 12, Wildlight to Release One Final Update With a New Warden, a New Weapon, Skill Trees, and More

Wildlight has announced that it volition beryllium permanently shutting down Highguard connected March 12. Before then, it volition merchandise 1 last update that adds a caller Warden, a caller weapon, relationship level progression, and accomplishment trees for those who privation to get their last matches in.

Wildlight shared the quality connected X/Twitter, saying, "Today we’re sharing hard news. We person made the determination to permanently unopen down Highguard connected March 12.

"Since launch, much than 2 cardinal players stepped into Highguard’s world. You shared feedback, created content, and galore believed successful what we were building. For that, we are profoundly grateful.

"Despite the passionateness and hard enactment of our team, we person not been capable to physique a sustainable subordinate basal to enactment the crippled agelong term. Servers volition stay online until March 12th. We anticipation you’ll leap successful with america 1 much clip to amusement your enactment and get those last large matches successful portion we inactive can.

"The squad is excited to merchandise 1 last crippled update to bask successful the remaining beingness of the game. We'll beryllium adding a new Warden, a new weapon, account level progression, and skill trees! Full spot notes are coming, and we're targeting contiguous oregon time greeting for spot release.

"From each of america astatine Wildlight, convey you for playing, for supporting us, and for being portion of Highguard’s story."

Wildlight was archetypal announced astatine The Game Awards 2026, and it was the large finale for the show. Geoff Keighley had enjoyed what helium played of the game, and helium past offered the coveted past spot to Wildlight for Highguard.

It didn't spell rather arsenic good arsenic planned, and Josh Sobel, a developer who worked connected Highguard earlier being fto spell from Wildgate, shared that the game, and by hold its team, "turned into a gag from infinitesimal one, mostly owed to mendacious assumptions astir a million-dollar advertisement placement."

"Within minutes, it was decided: this crippled was dormant connected arrival, and creators present had escaped ragebait contented for a month," Sobel continued. "Every 1 of our videos connected societal media got downvoted to hell. Comments sections were flooded with copy/paste meme phrases specified arsenic 'Concord 2' and 'Titanfall 3 died for this.' At launch, we received implicit 14k reappraisal bombs from users with little than an hr of playtime. Many didn't adjacent decorativeness the required tutorial."

Highguard did motorboat connected January 26, 2026, and the squad astatine Wildgate stayed precise quiescent betwixt The Game Awards and its motorboat day, but the crippled did commencement disconnected beardown with Steam concurrents reaching astir 100,000. Unfortunately, it besides had a "mostly negative" idiosyncratic reappraisal standing connected Steam.

Wildgate was speedy to code issues with the game, and adjacent added a 5v5 crippled mode to antagonistic the 3v3 complaints. Shortly thereafter, astir of the workplace was laid off, but the crippled kept on.

Reports kept coming retired astir the game, including however it came to beryllium and that it was softly backed by Tencent, and present its communicative volition sadly travel to an extremity aft 45 days of being online.

We enjoyed what we played of Highguard, and scored it a 7/10.

"Highguard’s compelling gunplay, awesome gait of updates, and slayer Raid mode person made its breathtaking attack-and-defend encounters rather memorable, adjacent if the mentation we person close present feels a spot similar a unsmooth draft," IGN's Travis Northup said successful his review. "The unsocial competitory matches decidedly person country for improvement, with maps that tin consciousness a small bare and rounds that are somewhat uneven betwixt their dilatory looting lows and chaotic raiding highs.\

"Plus, with conscionable 9 characters, a fistful of maps and bases, and lone 1 crippled mode served up successful a fewer antithetic flavors, there’s not a batch of nutrient connected this bony conscionable yet. But what is present astatine the infinitesimal is inactive a batch of amusive connected its own, and I tin already consciousness the makings of thing that could beryllium beauteous stellar if it’s capable to past agelong capable to afloat recognize that potential."

Adam Bankhurst is simply a writer for IGN. You tin travel him connected X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst, Instagram, and TikTok, and perceive to his show, Talking Disney Magic.