Highguard Calls It Quits (But At Least It Beat Concord)

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So, it’s official – Highguard is shutting down. It’s a bummer, honestly. I really enjoyed my time with it, but the devs announced it’ll be going offline on March 12, 2026. It didn’t last super long as a live service game, but it definitely made an impression while it was around.

Highguard was unveiled with a big reveal at The Game Awards 2025 as a multiplayer shooter where players control heroes and ride mounts. While the game initially attracted a large number of players, its popularity quickly dropped. Discussions about the game soon centered on its struggle to retain players and convince them to make purchases like character skins.

After many layoffs at Wildlight, players worried that the game Highguard would be cancelled. Those fears are now true – the official Highguard account announced a final update, and the game will close on March 12th.

Did Highguard Ever Stand A Chance?

It’s frustrating how much of the coverage of Highguard focused on its potential failure, and how some people blamed content creators making negative videos for the game not succeeding.

That’s simply not true. People who work in the video game industry – especially journalists and those who cover it – want games to be successful. They thrive when people are excited and talking about new releases. The failure of Highguard will only generate a brief flurry of news before being forgotten.

Highguard didn’t succeed not because of negative attention from YouTubers or overly high hopes created by Geoff Keighley, but simply because it didn’t offer anything particularly unique or memorable.

Highguard didn’t succeed not because of negative attention from online personalities or overly high hopes from the media, but because it simply wasn’t unique. Its characters lacked memorable designs, and it clearly needed more testing before release. In today’s crowded gaming landscape, that’s a recipe for failure. Highguard had potential, but wasn’t polished enough to stand out.

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Honestly, Highguard wasn’t quite the disaster some other games have been – I remember when Concord flopped, and this wasn’t that bad. But it’s still really sad, you know? It’s easy to just see another game shut down, but it’s the people who made it that really get me. I hope everyone who worked on Highguard lands on their feet and finds a new gig soon. TopMob seems to be wishing them well, which is good to see.

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2026-03-04 01:09