After launching on January 26, Highguard has struggled to maintain gamers, in accordance with information on SteamDB. However Wildlight isn’t giving up on the free-to-play raid shooter, and has introduced a giant change for the sport: a 5v5 mode.
On Friday, Wildlight’s studio head and recreation director Chan Grenier teased on Twitter that a “big update” about Highguard was coming, including “You’ll want to see this one.” About 4 hours later, after some delay, that replace arrived, and it was certainly a biggie. For a restricted time, Highguard will provide gamers a 5v5 mode, a giant shift from the sport’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 requested, we listened
All-new 5v5 restricted time mode, playable now! ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/wBaFZUOCeZ
— Highguard | LIVE NOW! (@PlayHighguard) January 30, 2026
The brand new mode was added as a part of a patch that’s stay now on consoles and PC. 5v5 will solely be round for the weekend, for now, and Wildlight warns that including extra gamers may result in some efficiency points. Nonetheless, I’m excited to offer Highguard one other shot to see if a couple of extra gamers within the recreation’s massive empty maps may assist add some pleasure and take some stress off gamers having to carry out completely throughout group fights.
The dialog round Highguard has been a multitude ever because it was introduced by way of the ultimate teaser on the 2025 Game Awards in December. That trailer didn’t excite folks on-line, and a interval of radio silence afterward left a giant void that was stuffed by offended commentators, confused players, numerous blogs, and random takes from customers on websites like Reddit and BlueSky. When it lastly arrived earlier this week, it noticed an enormous inflow of curious onlookers, practically reaching 100k concurrent gamers in accordance with SteamDB information. However only a few days later, Highguard’s playercount has dwindled as negative reviews continue to flood the game’s Steam page.
Will this massive change be sufficient to show issues round, or is Highguard doomed to develop into one other flop in a protracted line of live-service video games which have didn’t survive? I’m undecided, however on the very least, it appears Wildlight Leisure is prepared to make massive adjustments to the sport to try to preserve it round.
