Highguard will "permanently shut down" next week after "one final game update," dev confirms: "We have not been able to build a sustainable player base"

Highguard is dead, everyone. Wildlight has announced that it's "permanently" shutting down the short-lived hero shooter next week on Thursday, March 12.

"Today we're sharing difficult news. We have made the decision to permanently shut down Highguard on March 12," reads an article from the official Highguard Twitter account. "Since launch, more than 2 million players stepped into Highguard’s world. You shared feedback, created content, and many believed in what we were building. For that, we are deeply grateful.

"Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term."

Even for a live-service hero shooter, Highguard has had a rough go of it. Its reveal trailer at last year's Game Awards was received by a crowd that's become exhausted by live-service shooters, and was confused to see one surprise-announced at the coveted final spot in Geoff Keighley's slew of announcements. While it had a strong initial player base, Wildlight failed to sustain the momentum despite a flurry of chunky updates, including the acclaimed 5v5 mode. Just weeks after launch, Wildlight was hit with mass layoffs, painting a grim future for Highguard.

In the final days until the server shutdown, Highguard players will get to enjoy one last update releasing "tonight or tomorrow morning" with "a new Warden, a new weapon, account level progression, and skill trees."

"From all of us at Wildlight, thank you for playing, for supporting us, and for being part of Highguard’s story," the studio says.

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