Highguard's failure has been a rather sour experience to follow as the developer behind the game was claimed to be independent, meaning it was made up of individuals looking to put their stamp on the games industry without the support of established publisher frameworks. But perhaps this was in fact not accurate, as a new report from Game File suggests Highguard and its creator Wildlight Entertainment were backed by Chinese gaming behemoth Tencent.
The details on this front are limited but Game File does specifically state that Tencent was the "undisclosed lead financial backer of Wildlight Entertainment," and that this news could shed some light on how the project was funded during its four-year development cycle.
This does somewhat directly clash with Geoff Keighley's grand introduction of Highguard at The Game Awards, wherein the host mentioned that Wildlight was an "independent self-published studio". So was it really?
No official confirmation has been shared as of yet, but if Tencent was backing Wildlight and helping fund the development of Highguard, why did the game have such a dismal marketing campaign, why did it go radio silent after its announcement and up until launch, and why did the majority of the studio get laid off within two weeks of the debut? These are all questions that are becoming increasingly hard to answer as one of the gaming world's biggest stories in 2026 continues to evolve.
For more on Highguard, the game's website has recently gone dark, suggesting that the title's days are numbered.