Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Highguard Releases Farewell Update Ahead of March 12 Shutdown

Wildlight attributes the closure to insufficient revenue after weak post‑launch retention.

Overview

  • The final patch is live with account progression, a four‑branch skill tree, the new Warden Koldo, and the Switchback weapon, with XP tuned for rapid leveling.
  • Creative director Jason McCord says a small "skeleton crew" voluntarily crunched to finish the update, which he notes is "compromised" with some missing Koldo skins, emotes, and audio.
  • Wildlight will take servers offline on March 12, about seven weeks after launch, following an official shutdown announcement earlier this week.
  • Studio head Chad Grenier says the team launched with limited features after running out of "time and money" and later lacked the revenue to keep staff employed.
  • Multiple outlets report mass layoffs left roughly 20 developers and that Tencent funding was reportedly pulled after weak performance, though neither party has confirmed this; player counts spiked near 100,000 at launch before rapidly declining.