Highguard was reportedly secretly funded by Tencent, and if that kind of backer can't offer more than two weeks of life I don't know what hope a multiplayer FPS has in 2026

The future for Highguard does not look bright. Developer Wildlight went through mass layoffs barely two weeks after launch, and if the game can stage a comeback at this point, it'll be something beyond a miracle. Today, however, a bizarre twist in the Highguard saga has emerged, as a new report suggests Chinese megapublisher Tencent financially backed the game.

Tencent's TiMi Studio Group, which makes games including Pokemon Unite and Delta Force, "was the undisclosed lead financial backer" behind Wildlight, according to Game File. Exact details of the arrangement, including the amount of funding, when or if it ended, and why it was never publicly disclosed were not provided by the outlet's sources.

Tencent has wide-ranging investments in a range of Western studios, including Ubisoft, Epic, and Riot, so the suggestion that it's involved in a project like Highguard isn't altogether shocking, but it is bizarre that the funding was never made public. Wildlight is "technically independent and not part of TiMi," Game File says.

One account of Wildlight from a former developer describes it as an "independent, self-published, dev-led studio full of passionate people just trying to make a fun game, with zero AI, and zero corporate oversight." Whatever financial input Tencent might've had in Highguard's development, it seems that did not extend to creative input.

Still, Tencent's financial backing was not enough to save Wildlight from suffering mass layoffs just over two weeks after Highguard was released. Whether the game itself shuts down remains to be seen, but players are treating the sudden disappearance of the official website as a massive warning sign.

Whether Highguard was ever good enough to earn a chance – much less a second chance – is a matter of some debate, but the initially dismal Steam reviews did improve slightly and major updates did come quickly. Yet the game hasn't even had a month on the market before its investors started trying to cut their losses.

The incredibly competitive world of online gaming is notoriously tough to break into for any new project, and day one success stories are rare. But between Sony's Concord, Riot's 2XKO, and now Highguard, it feels like the runway is getting shorter with every failure. If (alleged) Tencent money isn't enough to give developers a meaningful shot at finding their audience, I can't imagine what hope any big multiplayer game has in 2026.

Our list of the best online games includes a few that never would've made it if they'd only been given weeks to live or die.