Wildlight Entertainment has announced the closure of its free-to-play squad shooter Highguard, despite the game reaching 2 million players. Highguard, which launched on January 26th, will permanently shut down on March 12th due to the developer’s inability to establish a sustainable player base for long-term support.
Before the final shutdown, Highguard will receive one last update introducing a new character and weapon, along with other adjustments. The abrupt end of the game reflects the challenging environment for live-service titles, with recent closures of Sony’s Concord and Riot’s layoffs on 2XKO highlighting the industry’s struggles in sustaining such projects.
Publishers and developers continue to strive for the success of live-service giants like Fortnite, but breaking into this space remains a daunting task. Even established single-player studios like Remedy, known for titles such as Alan Wake, have faced difficulties in transitioning to live-service models.
Source: The Verge