Highguard gets a new playable character, skill trees and more ahead of next week's closure

Highguard gets a new playable character, skill trees and more ahead of next week’s closure | 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 Third Person Shooter Arc Raiders’ Shrouded Sky added lots of cool new toys, but my favourite part is the new quality-of-life features that have flown under the radar 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 RPG Wuthering Waves 3.1 is here: Introducing a digital ghost, a gold-blooded doctor, and a huge new region Third Person Shooter The latest Arc Raiders patch makes Rocketeers way more important FPS RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular 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 MMO 15 years after it was shut down, Star Wars Galaxies is still getting massive updates thanks to this restoration project—like a Helldivers-style galactic civil war Action As Assassin’s Creed Shadows support comes to an end, Ubisoft reiterates what’s coming in the future, and yes, co-op factors into it somehow FPS 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’ Third Person Shooter Arc Raiders full interview: ‘Nobody whatsoever thought we’d have this many players’ FPS As Destiny 2’s player count continues to tank, Bungie announces that the next major update is delayed until June and getting a new name Third Person Shooter The new Arc Raiders robot dropping tomorrow is actually two new robots: a ‘flying nightmare’ flame drone and a meaner Pop FPS Highguard review PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Resident EvilArc RaidersBest PC gearGame Quizzes Games FPS Highguard Highguard gets a new playable character, skill trees and more ahead of next week’s closure News By Shaun Prescott published 5 March 2026 Wildlight’s skeleton crew is pumping out material while it still can. 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 Highguard goes offline on March 12—that’s in eight days—but it’s nevertheless just received a massive content update adding a new playable Warden, account progression, and a skill tree.”This is our final update and it’s big,” Highguard creative director Jason McCord wrote on X. “Props to the skeleton crew at Wildlight for wanting to finish it and ship it to our remaining players, even if it only gets played by a few thousand people. They weren’t asked to. They asked if they could finish it up and get it out there.”The headline feature is probably Koldo, a new healer Warden who can deploy a “Soul Shield” to protect their squad, and whose “Battle Cry” ultimate creates a moveable dome that regenerates health. There’s also a new gun in the form of the Switchback, which doubles as a shotgun and a marksman rifle: shoot from the hip and it’s a shotty, but if you aim down sights it’s a precision-focused affair. 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’ 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’ 16 days after Highguard’s launch, the studio has laid off ‘most of the staff’ The other features, while probably welcome for Highguard enthusiasts, are probably more bittersweet given the game’s imminent closure. Highguard now has skill trees and player progression: the former branches off into four specialties including Raider, Harvester, Treasure Hunter, and Protector. Points for the skill tree are earned by playing; the level cap is 100 while the total amount of earnable skill points is 44.When asked by an X user why this content wasn’t available at