It seems all too common for a new free-to-play, live-service game to be heavily invested into only to fail currently. In 2024, Playstation’s $400m produced game Concord was removed from the store two weeks after launch while other titles such as Redfall and Anthem in previous years failed to fulfil their desired profit margins. Highguard has now become the next live-service game to fall victim to these financial pressures with the 100-person team originally working on the game being absolved into a skeleton crew of around 20 people. Additionally, the concurrent users on steam have fallen too around 600 signifying a 99% drop in players in the games limited month lifespan.
Despite this, hopes for any committed fans of the game and developers alike of a potential future have not completely vanished with the website that was closed for a period, which suggested to gamers that Highguard was on its way out, now running again. Equally, Wildlight Entertainment are continuing to deliver updates and content to try and extend the games lifespan as they had already proposed a year-long roadmap worth of content. While Highguard remains online and in a state of playability currently, low player counts among a general lack of public interest mean the future of the game is in doubt.
The failure of Highguard could signal a worrying future for not only Wildlight Entertainment but the wider live-service, hero shooter genre as dwindling player numbers imply there is a fatigue present from gamers. Whatever the case, Highguard is a game that will be watched to see if it can retain a player base for an elongated period of time.