Highguard Launches to Overwhelmingly Negative Reviews (and Is Already Losing Players)

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Wildlight Entertainment’s new multiplayer game, Highguard, launched yesterday to a very negative reception. Players on Steam are largely disappointed, citing issues with awkward combat, uneven character classes, and a shortage of things to do. Despite high expectations for a refined and competitive game, first impressions are overwhelmingly poor.

One reason for the game’s difficulties might be its marketing. Highguard was only shown once at The Game Awards and didn’t receive much promotion afterward, which likely meant fewer people were aware of its release. This, along with some initial issues with how the game played, created a challenging situation from the beginning.

Highguardā€™s Launch Day Numbers Are Shockingly Low for a Hyped Live-Service Game Release

For games that are constantly updated and supported (often called ‘live-service’ games), how well a game sells on its first day is incredibly important. Unfortunately, the initial sales numbers for Highguard are causing some concern. SteamDB reports that:

  • All-time peak concurrent players: 16,819 on launch day
  • Peak on release day: roughly 16,819 as well, meaning the game never climbed higher in its first 24 hours
  • Daily peak players: under 20,000, which is extremely low for a AAA live-service title

Most online games that generate a lot of buzz initially attract hundreds of thousands of players when they launch, but that number usually decreases over time. However, Highguard barely reached 100 players at its peak, which is extremely unusual for a game of this size. What’s more concerning is that the player count started falling quickly on launch day, indicating that many people didn’t play for very long. This is a serious problem for the game.

Player reviews on Steam suggest a few key problems with the game. Many find the combat feels clunky and unpredictable, making battles more annoying than enjoyable. Some players also feel the character classes aren’t well-balanced, or simply aren’t interesting to play. The game’s progression system is also criticized for being too simple, with little reason to continue playing after the initial hours. On top of these issues, some users have reported technical problems like disconnections and lag, adding to the overall frustration.

Many players feel that Highguard wasn’t fully finished before release, like a collection of ideas that needed more work. They were hoping for a refined and competitive game, but it feels rushed. For games that are constantly updated, making a good first impression is crucial. If the core gameplay and how players improve arenā€™t immediately engaging, marketing canā€™t save it. Itā€™s hard to change peopleā€™s initial opinions, especially for a large player base.

Wildlight Entertainment is facing significant challenges with the launch of Highguard. A weak marketing push, combined with initial gameplay issues and a quick loss of players, has put the game in a difficult spot. This highlights the risks of running a live-service game ā€“ a poor start can be hard to overcome, and the team needs to quickly improve things to keep current players and attract new ones.

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2026-01-27 21:11