Key Highlights:
- The Highguard website now throws a Site Unavailable error.
- The studio behind the game may have have backing from Tencent before Highguard was a thing.
- It is likely to be shut down very soon.
The official website for Highguard is currently down, mentioning that the website is unavailable. Fans of the game are in a for a rude awakening, and this news follows shortly after the studio, Wildlight Entertainment had a series of mass layoffs just a a few short days before.
It certainly does not bode well for the free to play fantasy shooter, and might be a sign toward an eventual end of service. That being said, here’s everything we know, and what to expect.
Highguard Website Goes Down After a Series of Layoffs
The official website for Highguard is now down, as reported by multiple users online. Accessing the website throws a ‘Site Unavailable’ error, which further asks users to contact support for further assistance.
Gone are the official banners and announcements (including a content plan for the game), and readers will be greeted by an unfortunate blank page. This has caused some wild speculation across the internet, with many fearing the worst.
Truth be told, things aren’t looking too good for developer Wildlight Entertainment, a studio that recently laid off a good chunk of its staff over at Highguard just weeks ago.
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This seems to be the final nail in the coffin for the team and game itself, and this is the fate of most live service games. Competition is cutthroat and nothing less than a perfect product (aligned with the interests of an increasingly disillusioned playerbase) will result in an immediate shutdown.
What’s tragic here is that Highguard barely lasted a month, reminding us of yet another Concord situation. No game should fail this quickly, and perhaps the surprise reveal at TGA 2025 might have been to blame, since it backfired spectacularly.
What This Realistically Means For Highguard
In a nutshell, not really a whole lot. Highguard is pretty much doomed at this point, and it doesn’t really take a whole lot of research to understand the same. The game has lost most of its player base on Steam (among other platforms, such as consoles) and is quickly dropping down the popularity charts.
Combined with the fact that most of the team was promptly laid off, and we kind of see where this is going. There’s barely a team left at Wildlight Entertainment right now, and there is a very good chance they will not be able to deliver on the roadmap.
The Tencent Angle
As per a recent report from the Game File, Wildlight Entertainment was secretly backed by the Chinese gaming giant, Tencent. The team was likely well funded for years before Highguard happened, having a well established backing from Tencent.
For the uninitiated, Tencent is a gaming giant from China most well known for their mobile spinoff, PUBG Mobile.
The company has been pivoting toward proper, AAA and indie releases recently, with the Callisto Protocol (from KRAFTON, a company they have a significant stake in) and Subnautica 2 being the more recent examples.
Assuming this report holds true, this is quite an interesting turn of events, even if it barely affects the fate of the game. To make matters more complicated, neither Wildlight nor Tencent have publicly responded to these claims, putting a shadow of mystery around it.
