When Highguard’s official website crashed last week, it didn’t just vanish with a server error—it was replaced by a stark, unbranded notice: 'Site unavailable.'* The email address for support wasn’t even from Wildlight, the studio behind the game, but from Code32, its third-party web host. For a title already struggling to retain players, the glitch felt like another nail in the coffin. Yet the developer insists it’s not a crisis at all.
In a message shared with players on the game’s Discord, a representative from Wildlight framed the issue as a bureaucratic delay—nothing more. The site’s transfer and redesign, they noted, was a low priority, with the studio’s focus squarely on pushing updates rather than fixing what it now considers a reputation problem already in the past. The tone was blunt: 'Now we just need to focus on delivering updates and content to improve.'*
The problem is, Highguard’s reputation has been unraveling long before its website went dark. The game’s launch was met with a surge of nearly 100,000 concurrent players, a feat largely attributed to its last-minute spotlight at The Game Awards. But that initial hype evaporated almost as quickly. Within two weeks, Wildlight announced it had laid off 'most' of its staff, keeping only a core team to continue development. Since then, player numbers have collapsed to a fraction of their peak—regularly dipping below 1,000 active users.
The studio’s silence hasn’t helped. Where secrecy once fueled intrigue before launch, it now fuels doubt. A broken website, combined with dwindling player engagement and a skeletal development team, paints a picture of a project adrift. The question isn’t whether Wildlight can fix the site—it’s whether it can salvage the game’s momentum before it’s too late.
- Website Status: Currently down with a generic 'unavailable' message; support email points to third-party host Code32.
- Developer Response: Dismissed as a low-priority administrative issue; focus remains on content updates over PR fixes.
- Player Count: Dropped from nearly 100,000 at launch to consistently under 1,000 active users.
- Workforce: Mass layoffs occurred 16 days post-launch; only a core development team remains.
- Recent Update: A major content patch released amid staff cuts, though most work likely predated the reductions.
The disconnect between Wildlight’s public messaging and the game’s on-the-ground reality is growing. While the studio frames its challenges as technical or logistical, the broader picture suggests a title fighting for survival. Highguard’s website may be the least of its problems—but for players already questioning its future, every broken link feels like another sign the game is running out of time.
