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High Guard Website Outage Sparks Shutdown Fears - Quickly Dismissed

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  Published in Media and Entertainment on Wednesday, February 18th 2026 at 18:26 GMT by IGN
      Locales: California, UNITED STATES

February 18th, 2026 - Fears of a potential shutdown for the popular tactical RPG High Guard were swiftly quelled today as developers issued a reassuring statement following a prolonged outage of the game's official website. The outage, lasting approximately 18 hours, sparked considerable anxiety within the High Guard community, many of whom had begun speculating about the game's future based on precedents set by similar occurrences in the gaming industry.

Today, the development team at Stellar Nexus Studios took to X (formerly Twitter) to address the situation, stating: "We're aware of the issues with our website and apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. We're working hard to resolve it and a new patch is on the way, so please bear with us." This concise message proved enough to assuage many fears, though questions remain about the root cause of the website disruption.

The timing of the outage proved particularly sensitive for fans. Historically, a sudden and unexplained takedown of a game's official website has often been a precursor to a shutdown announcement. Several prominent titles over the past few years - notably Aethelgard Online in 2024 and Starborn Frontier in early 2025 - experienced website failures shortly before developers announced the permanent closure of servers and support. This unfortunate pattern has understandably heightened player sensitivity, leading to the immediate assumption of the worst when the High Guard website went offline.

High Guard, released to generally positive reviews in late 2025, quickly gained a dedicated following for its challenging tactical combat and engaging narrative. The game places players in command of a mercenary company navigating a politically fractured continent, requiring strategic deployment of units and careful resource management. Critics praised its depth of gameplay, intricate character customization, and evocative art style, citing it as a refreshing take on the tactical RPG genre. The game distinguishes itself through its dynamic campaign map, where player choices directly influence the geopolitical landscape and available contracts. Initial sales exceeded projections, and the game maintains a strong active player base, according to data from SteamDB and other tracking sites.

The upcoming patch, while details are currently scarce, is expected to address a number of long-standing player requests. Community forums have been buzzing with discussions regarding potential improvements to the game's AI, balance adjustments for certain character classes, and the implementation of a requested 'Ironman' mode for hardcore players. Some fans are hoping the patch will also address minor bugs reported in the initial release, particularly related to quest progression and occasional graphical glitches. Stellar Nexus Studios has a history of actively engaging with its player base, incorporating feedback into updates and demonstrating a commitment to post-launch support.

Sources close to the development team suggest the website outage was caused by a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, though this remains unconfirmed. If true, this would indicate a deliberate attempt to disrupt service, rather than an internal issue with Stellar Nexus Studios' infrastructure. The company has not commented on the potential for malicious activity, focusing instead on restoring website functionality and delivering the promised patch. The incident highlights the growing vulnerability of online gaming services to cyberattacks and the importance of robust security measures.

While the exact release date of the patch remains unknown, Stellar Nexus Studios has pledged to keep the community informed. Players are encouraged to follow the official High Guard X account and Discord server for the latest updates. For now, fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing that High Guard is not only still alive but continues to receive active development and support, promising more strategic battles and engaging adventures to come.