Developer Wildlight has announced the closure of its free-to-play hero shooter, Highguard, after a brief six-week run. The game is set to permanently shut down on March 12.

In a statement shared on social media, Wildlight expressed gratitude to the more than two million players who engaged with Highguard, offering feedback and creating content. However, the studio acknowledged that despite the team’s dedication and effort, they were unable to establish a sustainable player base for the game’s long-term success. They encouraged players to join for one final play session before the servers go offline.

Highguard premiered at The Game Awards 2025, showcasing an engaging universe filled with battles among Wardens and their mystical mounts. Although the game enjoyed a strong start with a significant initial player influx upon its January launch, it also faced multiple criticisms regarding aspects like map size and the 3v3 gameplay format. The studio attempted to address these concerns through content updates and patches, including making a previously limited-time 5v5 mode a permanent feature. Unfortunately, these efforts did not suffice, leading to a decline in player numbers and ultimately the decision to discontinue the game.

Before the shutdown, Wildlight plans to roll out one last update that will introduce a new Warden, a new weapon, account leveling progression, and skill trees. Full details on this final update are expected within the next few days.

In a separate statement, Chad Grenier, game director for Highguard, addressed questions about the game’s future, citing insufficient revenue to sustain ongoing development and employment for the team.

Grenier also shared some statistics about the game, noting that the average play session lasted 91 minutes and players typically engaged in about 3.48 matches per session. PlayStation users made up the largest player base, followed by Xbox and Steam. The character Scarlet was notably the most popular choice among players.

Additionally, many game sessions ended due to the exploding generator mechanic, while the 3v3 mode emerged as the most favored gameplay style. The majority of players, particularly in the US and Japan, completed the game’s training mission, indicating a healthy engagement rate similar to other successful titles at launch.

Recently, it was reported that Tencent had withdrawn funding from Wildlight, shortly after Highguard’s debut, leading to an all-staff meeting where layoffs were discussed due to unmet performance metrics. Wildlight confirmed these layoffs the following day, stating that a core group of developers would remain to continue working on the game during its remaining time.