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Artist Apologizes for His Words in Highguard

As Highguard prepares to close on March 12 due to recent controversy, players are eagerly turning their attention to the upcoming game, Marathon.

Jonathan Dubinski · 2 min read

Highguard will officially shut down on March 12, concluding a brief but turbulent period for the service-based game. The developers released a final content update before the shutdown. The closure follows controversy surrounding the game’s rocky launch, including heated social media posts by Wildlight Entertainment technical artist Josh Sobel. Sobel publicly apologized on March 11, 2026, after a month-long absence from social media, stating that while he stands by the content of his message, he regrets the way it was expressed. He explained that the February message was driven by stress, sadness, and anger stemming from minimal sleep and layoffs at Wildlight. Sobel believes the "persecution" of the game and subsequent toxicity significantly impacted its health. While acknowledging the December negativity played a role, he maintains that Highguard's rapid decline resulted from numerous factors, not solely internal personnel decisions. Sobel’s original comments were deleted after the social media outburst. Poor design choices, negative online feedback, and a lack of post-launch financial support contributed to Highguard's financial struggles. According to the source article [link provided], the game’s closure serves as a cautionary tale about launching new shooters in an oversaturated market.

Highguard's Closure Sparks Attention to Marathon Player Boost

As Highguard's servers prepare to go offline, those who have been tracking its Steam player numbers are turning their attention to Marathon.

In Case You Missed It

In other news, we've got a trio of posts that you won't want to miss! First up, Carlos Mendoza is stirring up excitement among Xbox Game Pass subscribers with his latest post, "Xbox Game Pass May Soon Receive One of the Biggest RPGs in Recent Years" Xbox Game Pass May Soon Receive One of the Biggest RPGs in Recent Years. Keep your eyes peeled for a significant reveal that could soon enrich your gaming library! Next, we're amplifying voices and promoting diversity in gaming with Jonathan Dubinski's insightful piece, "On Their Sights: Live Podcast Highlights Female Protagonism in Gaming Universe" On Their Sights: Live Podcast Highlights Female Protagonism in Gaming Universe. He shines a spotlight on "Na Mira Delas," a live podcast project fostering open dialogue among women involved or aspiring in gaming and creative industries. Lastly, our tech correspondent Marcus Thompson unveils the behind-the-scenes story of Microsoft's cloud-first vision for Xbox with his latest article, "Microsoft Quietly Discontinues 'This is an Xbox' Campaign" Microsoft Quietly Discontinues 'This is an Xbox' Campaign. Dive in to discover the future of Xbox under new leadership!

// The Friday recap

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Game info

Official Name
Groove Coaster: Initial Initial Echo Ego
Brief Summary
Touhou Project music DLC for Groove CoasterTitle: Initial Initial Echo EgoArtist: RD-Sounds*Arrange from Touhou ShinreibyouDifficulty: Simple 2 / Normal 5 / Hard 8BPM: 156
Genre
Music
Play Modes
Single player

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Sources

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