Highguard Devs Make A Big Change As Player Count Nosedives

After launching on January 26, Highguard has struggled to keep players, according to data on SteamDB. But Wildlight isn’t giving up on the free-to-play raid shooter, and has announced a big change for the game: a 5v5 mode.

On Friday, Wildlight’s studio head and game director Chan Grenier teased on Twitter that a “big update” about Highguard was coming, adding “You’ll want to see this one.” About four hours later, after some delay, that update arrived, and it was indeed a biggie. For a limited time, Highguard will offer players a 5v5 mode, a big shift from the game’s 3v3 mode, which many had criticized for being too small and sweaty.

“We heard the feedback,” posted the official Highguard account. “For the weekend, we are experimenting with a 5v5 Raid Mode. This is a separate playlist and not meant to replace 3’s. 3v3 Raids are still there for people who enjoy it! The lobby has been updated to allow for parties of 5 while the mode is live.”

You asked, we listened

All-new 5v5 limited time mode, playable now! ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/wBaFZUOCeZ

— Highguard | LIVE NOW! (@PlayHighguard) January 30, 2026

The new mode was added as part of a patch that is live now on consoles and PC. 5v5 will only be around for the weekend, for now, and Wildlight warns that adding more players could lead to some performance issues. Still, I’m excited to give Highguard another shot to see if a few more players in the game’s big empty maps could help add some excitement and take some pressure off players having to perform perfectly during team fights.

The conversation around Highguard has been a mess ever since it was announced via the final teaser at the 2025 Game Awards in December. That trailer failed to excite people online, and a period of radio silence afterward left a big void that was filled by angry commentators, confused gamers, lots of blogs, and random takes from users on sites like Reddit and BlueSky. When it finally arrived earlier this week, it saw a huge influx of curious onlookers, nearly reaching 100k concurrent players according to SteamDB data. But just a few days later, Highguard’s playercount has dwindled as negative reviews continue to flood the game’s Steam page.

Will this big change be enough to turn things around, or is Highguard doomed to become another flop in a long line of live-service games that have failed to survive? I’m not sure, but at the very least, it seems Wildlight Entertainment is willing to make big changes to the game to try and keep it around.