Highguard director shares stats and thoughts on the game's failure, denies conspiracy theories about where it all went wrong: 'Nobody will know the true story of the studio or game'

Highguard director shares stats and thoughts on the game’s failure, denies conspiracy theories about where it all went wrong: ‘Nobody will know the true story of the studio or game’ | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Assassin’s Creed Former Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry director says Ubisoft ‘became very allergic’ to new games, which contributed to a ‘talent drain’ FPS Highguard is closing next week: ‘Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term’ FPS Highguard developers were surprised by layoff notices, new report says: They thought they’d have at least a few months to work on it but when Tencent ended funding, there was nothing left MOBA After deciding to make a MOBA, Quantic Dream also decides to release it at the same time as the Marathon server slam, the first Horizon Hunters Gathering playtest, and the Steam Next Fest FPS RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular Gaming Industry Amazon’s gaming walkback continues as it ends publishing deal for a new racing game being headed up by former Forza Horizon creative director FPS Highguard’s failure is emblematic of something that has tormented videogame investors for years now: past live service hits do not equal future live service hits FPS Highguard didn’t flop Assassin’s Creed The director of the first Assassin’s Creed with naval battles found it ‘bizarre’ to watch Skull and Bones’ agonisingly long development, because it was ‘essentially the same stuff re-shipping 14 years after we made it’ Third Person Shooter Embark admits Arc Raiders’ bosses are dying too fast because ‘they’re not intended for the full server to go up against’ and ‘we gave players too effective abilities’ FPS The many-boxed roadmap represents everything I hate about shooters right now Third Person Shooter Helldivers 2’s siege of Cyberstan is the greatest galactic campaign the game has seen so far MMO New World will join the graveyard of defunct MMOs when it goes offline in 2027 FPS Highguard review FPS 16 days after Highguard’s launch, the studio has laid off ‘most of the staff’ PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Resident EvilArc RaidersBest PC gearGame Quizzes Games FPS Highguard Highguard director shares stats and thoughts on the game’s failure, denies conspiracy theories about where it all went wrong: ‘Nobody will know the true story of the studio or game’ News By Andy Chalk published 4 March 2026 Highguard did better than it might appear, but still nowhere near well enough to be sustainable. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Wildlight Entertainment) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter It’s all over but the crying, as the song famously goes: After 37 days of existence, Wildlight Entertainment pulled the plug on Highguard yesterday, declaring the game unsustainable. Not long after, studio head Chad Grenier shared some insights into how the game actually performed, and it really doesn’t sound quite as catastrophic as the game’s rapid flameout makes it appear.”We had slightly over two million players worldwide try the game,” Grenier wrote in a thread on X. “I would like to thank all of you for giving the game a try. Given all of the backlash between announce and launch day, trying the game for yourself is all I could have asked for. Thank you to our players.”Average session duration was 91 minutes. This is actually quite good! This means that on average, a player logged into Highguard and played for 91 minutes. The average games played per session was 3.48 matches per session.” Related articles Highguard is closing next week: ‘Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term’ RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular Highguard developers were surprised by layoff notices, new report says: They thought they’d have at least a few months to work on it but when Tencent ended funding, there was nothing left More interesting, I think, is that Steam represented the smallest slice of the Highguard player base: PlayStation 5 was far and away the largest, more than doubling player numbers put up by Xbox, which trailed in second place, and Steam, in third. As PC Gamer’s Mo