Wildlight Entertainment is pushing back against rumors that its debut PvP raid shooter, Highguard, is on the verge of being shuttered. Speculation reached a fever pitch this week when the game’s official website abruptly went offline, leading a frustrated player base to assume the worst. However, a developer at the studio has since clarified that the digital disappearance was not a death knell, but rather a byproduct of a backend transition aimed at simplifying the site’s infrastructure.
The panic surrounding the outage didn’t emerge in a vacuum. Highguard has faced a turbulent trajectory since its high-profile reveal at last year’s Game Awards, where it secured the prestigious “one last thing” slot. While the event featured heavy hitters like Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic and a new Divinity title, host Geoff Keighley reportedly gave Highguard its closing trailer spot for free—a rare move that signaled immense industry confidence. Unfortunately, that early momentum has struggled to survive the reality of a live-service market.
In the months following its launch, the free-to-play hero shooter has been plagued by dwindling player counts and a divisive reception from the community. More concerning for the project’s longevity are reports of a mass exodus of employees from Wildlight Entertainment. These internal departures, coupled with the “mixed” critical consensus, created the perfect environment for the recent website outage to be interpreted as a sign of an impending permanent offline status.
Despite the optics, the studio maintains that the game isn’t going anywhere just yet. By streamlining the website, the team appears to be consolidating resources, though the move does little to silence critics who view the game as being in a “maintenance mode” state. For now, the servers remain live, but the developer’s reassurance serves as a reminder of how fragile the relationship between a struggling live-service title and its community can be. Whether Highguard can pivot toward a recovery remains to be seen, but for this week at least, the lights are staying on.
