Highguard's Launch Is Not Going Well On Steam

"Things started out quite well, though, as the game hit 97,249 concurrent players on its launch day. That's a respectable amount of people, especially when you consider the developers have said they don't need a lot of players to make the game profitable. It's sitting at about 50,000 players as I write this. But, venture onto Steam proper and the user reviews are not kind. Right now, it has a "Mostly Negative" rating from just over 9,000 reviews."

"One of the most common complains I'm seeing in the reviews is that the maps are far too large for the 3v3 gameplay because it means you spend a lot of time looking for people to shoot in the face. Other problems mentioned include blurry visuals, and a muddled gameplay loop where you capture objectives, shoot other players, farm resources, craft and more. And there's the usual performance complaints too."

"Speaking of that, Highguard's unfortunate beginnings must be discussed. It was shown at the very end of The Game Awards, apparently at the behest of Geoff Keighley himself. Usually such a spot would be a massive boon to a developer, especially one debuting its game. Unfortunately, the trailer failed to impress and viewers were quick to turn on the game, viewing it as yet another free-to-play live-service game."

Highguard launched after a rocky debut at The Game Awards and reached 97,249 concurrent players on launch day. Developers indicated a relatively small playerbase can make the game profitable, and active players are around 50,000 currently. Steam user reviews have rated the game Mostly Negative across just over 9,000 reviews. Common complaints include overly large maps for 3v3 causing long downtimes between encounters, blurry visuals, a muddled gameplay loop mixing objectives, shooting, resource farming and crafting, and performance problems. Some players defend the game, noting moments of fun. Console performance and future player retention remain uncertain.

Read at WGB