The live-service game genre is saturated, so much so that players don’t even like to see another one launch. There are several reasons why Highguard failed despite being an OK game with some interesting mechanics. The biggest one is the over-saturation of arena/hero shooters with live service elements. There isn’t a lot of space or juice left in the formula, with Overwatch and Marvel Rivals taking most of the share.
Highguard failed, not because of its quality; it failed because it tried to do too much in one go. The developers tried but failed to retain the already thin audience. A ton of stuff went wrong for the shooter. We discover why Highguard failed and what it could’ve done to prevent a complete disaster.
Table of Contents
Highguard Failed Because of Marketing
Highguard got revealed at the end of The Game Awards 2025, a reveal that’s usually reserved for the biggest game of the night. The decision was solely of Geoff Keighley, the host and producer of the show. In regular Keighley fashion, he hyped the reveal and claimed it would be a huge title. Later, he would hype the game on his social media as well, trying to sway player perception.
After the reveal, the developers and marketing went silent. There was no communication, announcements, or advertisements. Wildlight Entertainment, the studio behind the game, employs several developers from Respawn Entertainment. Respawn is known for Titanfall games and the recent Battle Royale hit, Apex Legends. Apex Legends also got shadow-dropped to huge success. Highguard, however, failed to capture an audience.
A hero shooter thrives on characters and lore behind them. Blizzard knew that and released several pieces of media about Overwatch characters. Hero explainers, ability breakdowns, combat, and gameplay need to get launched before the game releases. Highguard did none of that and expected players to get attached to the in-game characters. Highguard failed because of its nonexistent marketing.
Highguard Failed Because of 3v3
Highguard’s 3v3 gameplay is too small for the maps. The maps are huge, with a ton of downtime between fights. Players need to travel a lot to get to the action, making the game feel frustrating. While the maps are huge, they are also generic and forgettable; there are no iconic landmarks to callout to teammates either. The fantasy setting for a shooter is unique, but Highguard failed to capitalize on it.
The game should’ve launched with a 5v5 mode from the get-go. While the map is still too large for 5v5, it would help address some of the game’s problems. Ideally, there should have been a 10v10 mode to differentiate the game from the competition and have a ton of action. There could have been two sub-teams in a team: one would defend while the other went on the offensive.
The “gear-up” phase is slow, boring, and feels tacked on. The game would’ve done better if the weapon rarity and randomness were not there. It takes the skill away and introduces RNG to a game that didn’t need it. To make it worse, the loot points are far away, and you can’t get good gear from a couple of chests either. The horse traversal does help, but you need to memorize each location to be efficient.
Highguard Failed Because It’s Unmemorable
Highguard tried to be multiple games at once and failed to make a mark. Fortnite, Overwatch, Valorant, and even Counter-Strike, the game picked elements from genre giants, but doesn’t have enough uniqueness to stand out from the crowd. Players can excuse one weak aspect, but a whole game stitched together by average elements is hard to digest.
I played the game for 30 hours, and I honestly cannot recall a single character’s name. My friends and I nicknamed the characters to make it easier. Zeus, Groot, Johnny Storm, the list goes on. The lack of character marketing, combined with very average-looking visuals, made the game very forgettable. It’s not a Concord level of disaster when it comes to character design, but it’s nothing to write home about either.
For a team-based game, Highguard lacked several important features, such as chat and party. To make matters worse, matches were hard to find on consoles. Sometimes it took 5-10 minutes to find a match on Xbox. On PC, despite average visuals, the game suffered from performance issues, making it hard for several players to play.
Conclusion:
Highguard failed because players don’t have patience for games that don’t immediately hook them. Overwatch players can either play their favourite game or play Marvel Rivals, a free and well-made game. Fans of tactical shooters can play Valorant or Counter-Strike; both games have thriving communities. Players seeking huge maps and looting can play Fortnite or any other Battle Royale game.
Wildlight Entertainment should have launched the game in beta so players could give feedback to the developers. That would’ve given the team some leeway and invaluable feedback to work with. Instead, the studio launched the “complete” game, which failed to capture players’ attention.
