Highguard boss admits it released without content because they ran out of “time and money”

According to Highguard Game Director Chad Grenier, the game was released as it was due to Wildlight Entertainment running low on both time and funding.

Highguard will permanently close on March 12th. Player numbers have decreased to the point where it’s no longer financially sustainable to keep the servers running and continue developing the game.

Grenier explained the game’s launch, addressing fan concerns about why it initially had fewer features and why things like account levels and skill trees are being added now.

One player expressed confusion about the game’s initial release, calling it very basic and noting that many features were added later on.

Grenier responded that the studio had little choice when it came to the timing of the launch.

If you’re running out of time and funds, you sometimes have to launch a game as it is and rely on players continuing to support it after release.

If you’re running out of time and funds, you sometimes have to launch a game with what you’ve got and rely on players continuing to support it after release.

— Chad Grenier (@ChadGrenier) March 3, 2026

Someone else brought up a really good point – they were wondering why the developers weren’t sticking to their original plans for Year 1, hoping it could help turn things around for the game. It reminded me of No Man’s Sky – everyone thought that was a lost cause at first, but they totally managed to fix it and make it amazing, so I get why people are hoping for something similar here!

A player questioned why others weren’t giving Highguard a chance to improve, pointing to No Man’s Sky as an example of a game that successfully turned things around after a rough start. They noted that No Man’s Sky faced even bigger challenges than Highguard and that live service games are expected to evolve and get better over time.

Grenier explained that they couldn’t continue developing the game because too few people were playing, which meant they weren’t making enough money.

“Not enough revenue to keep anyone employed to work on it, unfortunately.”

Rumors circulated that Tencent secretly provided financial support to Highguard and Wildlight, though neither company has confirmed this. Following a sharp drop in player numbers after the games launched, Tencent allegedly stopped providing funding.

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2026-03-05 15:19