The launch of Highguard was to mark the arrival of an ambitious new competitor in the hotly contested sector of free multiplayer shooting games. A few weeks later, the project became one of the most striking examples of a blitzkrieg failure in the industry. A new report reveals something that has remained secret until today and it’s quite important. Indeed, the “independent” game would have been mainly financed by the Chinese giant Tencent.
Developed by Wildlight Entertainment, Highguard was presented at the Game Awards last December as a “free-to-play PvP raid shooter”, mixing both extraction and clashes between players, as in ARC Raiders For example. The announcement, carried by the event itself rather than by the studio, immediately sparked some skepticism online. Many content creators already predicted its failure even before its release, judging its concept too close to existing titles.
A descent into hell
Despite this, the late January launch got off to a strong start on paper, with nearly 100,000 concurrent players on Steam. But interest quickly fizzled. Reviews were mixed and player ratings were low. In a few weeks, attendance fell below 2,000 simultaneous players, an insufficient level for a multiplayer game dependent on a large active base.
The situation became even worse when the majority of studio employees were laid off shortly after release. Wildlight said it maintains a small team to maintain the game, but the future of the project has become uncertain. Some developers explained that the title had been “turned into a joke from the start” due to misconceptions related to the initial trailer.
It is in this context that a report from the specialized media Game File claims that Tencent was the studio’s main financier, through its subsidiary TiMi Studio Group. This information had never been made public. Wildlight simply presented itself as a fully funded studio, without specifying the origin of the funds.
Tencent’s exact role remains unclear. In particular, it is unclear whether a withdrawal of funding contributed to the layoffs or the collapse of the project. Neither the Chinese company nor the studio have commented on these revelations. For players, however, this situation has concrete consequences. With a reduced team and a plummeting number of players, the risk of server closures increases. The game’s official website also became inaccessible recently, fueling speculation on a possible complete shutdown.
Highguard also illustrates the increasing difficulty of launching a new multiplayer game today. Even with significant funding and global visibility, it is difficult to prevail against titles that are already established.
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