Despite its high-profile reveal at the end of the 2025 Game Awards, Highguard failed to resonate with audiences.
Perhaps it's the burnout from live service games; it's been a rough year for them unless your name is Arc Raiders. Maybe it's the fact that the game felt incredibly incomplete despite skipping Early Access.
Whatever the reason, Highguard is a game that, on paper, should have worked. After all, developer Wildlight Entertainment had the talent, comprising people who worked on Apex Legends and Titanfall. People love those games, so surely they'll love a hero shooter that looks and feels like Respawn's gameplay, right?
Of course, that's not at all how things turned out. As of today, Highguard is shutting down. It's a shame because we liked what we saw before the game went live, and there was an initial buzz. That's not guaranteed to translate to success, though, and people very quickly moved on. It's something Wildlight didn't expect, though, as one developer recently explained.
Highguard Had Extensive NDA Testing, But Still Had Blind Spots
Josh Sobel, a former tech artist and rigger for Highguard, has already commented on what he thinks happened to Highguard.
He has since expressed regret...
