Studio head Chad Grenier called concurrent player counts at launch as "actually quite good," comparing it to Apex Legends' launch.
"We have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term," says Wildlight about 45 days after launch.
"Throughout development, we really leaned into the competitive side of it, and that was always one of my biggest fears as a player."
Playtesters had plenty of access to developers who could answer any questions about the game's complex mechanics, unlike in real life.
Wildlight Entertainment's ill-fated PvP raid shooter apparently failed to meet metrics by its secret financial backer, Tencent.
"Now we just need to focus on delivering updates and content to improve," said a development team member about the PvP shooter.
Statements from former employees following lay-offs have indicated that, despite financial backing, Tencent didn't have any creative say.
The controversial PvP raid shooter could be nearing the end following rock-bottom player counts and extensive lay-offs at Wildlight.
"We were turned into a joke from minute one, largely due to false assumptions about a million-dollar ad placement," wrote Josh Sobel.
Former level designer Alex Graner has confirmed on LinkedIn that "most of the team at Wildlight" has been affected by the lay-offs.
After its 5v5 Raid Mode became permanent, Wildlight Entertainment has dropped the first Episode of new content for its free-to-play shooter.
The studio noted that the time-limited game mode saw fairly even players participating alongside Highguard's standard 3v3 mode.
Wildlight's Dusty Welch says, "The toxicity is challenging, and it’s debatable whether we would've had more, less or the same by doing TGA."
A motion blur toggle is also available for consoles and PC, alongside animation, projectile, and other optimizations for performance.
Wildlight Entertainment has confirmed that the next update for Highguard will bring further optimization improvements and more options.
Wildlight Entertainment's free-to-play PvP shooter may have launched strongly, but the reception has been far from positive.
Wildlight Entertainment's PvP raid shooter mash-up of multiplayer elements offers a repetitive, uninspired and dull time.
In a social media post, Wildlight Entertainment wrote about taking player feedback to bring features like more PC scaling options.
Despite the negative response from the gaming market at large, Wildlight Entertainment is still quite confident about Highguard.
Despite garnering strong player numbers on Steam, only a small percentage recommend Wildlight's free-to-play PvP shooter.
