Wildlight Entertainment has released an update for its hero shooter Highguard, introducing a 5v5 raid mode available only this weekend. The patch also includes optimizations and a new base, helping improve the game's Steam rating from Mostly Negative to Mixed. Players praise the changes for addressing early complaints about the 3v3 format.
Highguard, a live-service hero shooter developed by Wildlight Entertainment, launched on January 26, 2026, following its reveal at The 2025 Game Awards. Built by former developers from Titanfall and Apex Legends, the game faced a rocky start with a Mostly Negative Steam rating, where only 26% of reviews were positive. Many negative reviews stemmed from review bombing, with users joking about it as "Concord 2" after low playtime sessions, though genuine issues included poor PC optimization, small map sizes, and the 3v3 raid format.
In response, Wildlight deployed Patch 1.0.4 on January 30, 2026, focusing on bug fixes, new video settings, and requested features. The latest update, released around January 31, introduces a limited-time 5v5 Raid Mode as a separate playlist, preserving the original 3v3 option. To support larger teams, lobbies now allow parties of five, raids have 10 lives instead of six, and respawns are slightly longer to facilitate generator planting and defusing. A new base, Soul Well—a "dark relic from a lost age" where "the dead still speak"—joins rotations in both modes. The Firing Range remains unavailable for 5v5 parties over three players.
The update also brings optimizations for animations, projectiles, and gameplay systems, benefiting PC and consoles, alongside quality-of-life toggles like motion blur and anisotropic materials. "As one of two major patches released during launch week, this update is emblematic of the Highguard team's dedication to creating a 'ready for live service' game, resulting in immediate action," the team stated.
Player feedback has turned more positive, boosting the Steam rating to Mixed with 40% positive reviews. Steam user thyAuctive commented, "game was a wasteland with the 3v3 mode. 5v5 is absolutely a better pace and actually brings purpose to the farming and looting side of the game." Another user, Cλscade, noted, "The bones of a fun game is there. Just waiting for a massive performance update right now. 5v5 is fun and I saw my performance improve a little bit with the recent patch." Support came from 1047 Games, developers of Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, who said, "No game is perfect on day one."
Wildlight emphasized listening to community feedback without blame, a rarity in the industry, positioning the game for potential recovery amid ongoing optimizations.
