Highguard is pressing ahead with new content just a few days after a sudden website outage and reports about its financial backing sparked speculation that the game might be in trouble.
Developer Wildlight Entertainment confirmed that a new, content-focused patch will roll out later this week in Highguard. The update introduces a brand-new base, a powerful raid tool, and expanded offerings in the in-game store.
The highlight of the upcoming patch is Cloudreach, a new base built around a massive airship suspended high above the battlefield. The ship carries the Anchor Stone in its cargo hold, while the surrounding deck gives defenders elevated sightlines ideal for long-range engagements.
Players will also gain access to the new raid tool Lockpick, which fires darts that can open doors and windows while temporarily disabling them for enemies, allowing teams to control key entry points. The Lockpick can be selected at the start of a match or discovered in red Weapon Chests during raids.
The in-game store is expanding as well. Trader Flynn’s Trading Post will now rotate seven items each week instead of five, with some returning items giving players another chance to grab previously missed rewards.
New cosmetics are also on the way, including four versions of the Moonbruin Mount and the Wayfinder Bundle Series, which introduces four additional purchasable bundles.
Outage and funding report stir uncertainty for Highguard
The content drop arrives during a turbulent week for Highguard. The game’s official website suddenly went offline on Feb. 18, showing only a static page with the game’s logo and “Site Unavailable” message. At the time of writing, the website is still down. The outage quickly fueled rumors that the game was facing a shutdown or deeper operational issues.
Wildlight addressed the speculation on the Highguard Discord channel, explaining that the website was being transferred and simplified as part of routine maintenance. The studio stressed that its PvP raid shooter is not shutting down, even as the downtime amplified community anxiety.
Adding to the uncertainty, a report by Stephen Totilo of Game File revealed that Tencent is the primary financial backer of Wildlight Entertainment. The disclosure prompted renewed debate among players, with some arguing that Highguard is only looking to ride the recent success of indie titles.
The game launched on Jan. 26 following a grand reveal at The Game Awards, but its debut was met with heavy criticism. Players experienced performance issues and balance problems (myself included), dampening excitement.
Although Wildlight has since added a 5v5 mode, performance updates, a new Warden, and ranked play, player numbers have continued to drop. After peaking at more than 97,000 concurrent players at launch, the game has fallen to just over 1,300 players in the past 24 hours, based on SteamDB.
Wildlight still appears determined to steady the ship with the new Highguard content coming. However, with mounting speculation about its funding and continued player count decline, along with the recent layoffs, keeping the live-service raid shooter afloat will be a tall order.
