Less than a week after its launch, hero shooter Highguard has already added an experimental 5v5 playlist to shake things up as it continues to battle against rapidly declining player count numbers. After debuting at just under 100,000 concurrent players on Steam, Highguard has already fallen regularly below 10,000 active players at any given moment on the platform, prompting quick action from developer Wildlight Entertainment.
The release strategy for Highguard was certainly unconventional. It was initially revealed as the final major announcement at The Game Awards 2025. Marketing for the game was largely radio-silent until its January 26 release date, and studio co-founder Dusty Welch recently revealed that the plan was for Highguard to shadow-drop, adopting the Apex Legends strategy. When all was said and done, Highguard drew major attention on Steam following its release, with tons of reviews and a large player count. Unfortunately, though, many of these reviews were negative, putting the game at a "Mixed" rating on Steam at the moment. Just 43% of the game's reviews are positive, which has immediately put the game on the back foot.
Highguard is a challenging PvP Shooter Arena, and knowing every Warden in the...
