Devs Defend Highguard Amid Negative Reviews

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Despite ongoing criticism, developers from various game studios are coming to the defense of Highguard. The hero shooter, which was revealed at The Game Awards 2025, has experienced a rollercoaster of reactions since its announcement. While Highguard is currently facing challenges, the situation has prompted developers throughout the industry to ask players for another look and a chance to improve.

Wildlight Entertainment’s first game, Highguard, had a very eventful launch week. It quickly attracted over 97,000 players, but almost immediately received “Overwhelmingly Negative” reviews on Steam. This rapid decline reminded many gamers of Sony’s unsuccessful hero shooter, Concord, and while Highguard might not meet the same end, the initial negative impression stuck. Interestingly, developers who weren’t even involved in making Highguard are now publicly defending it.

Devs Say “It’s Easy to Celebrate Failure” but Highguard Deserves Better

When news spread that the online game Highguard had lost 80% of its players, some developers from other companies criticized the focus on the negative side of things. Thomas Puha, from Remedy Entertainment, wondered if news outlets were actually celebrating Highguard‘s struggles, simply to create attention-grabbing headlines. Michael Douse, from the team behind Baldur’s Gate 3, agreed, stating that game development thrives on positivity, not just financial success. He explained that focusing on failures makes it difficult for developers to understand what players truly want, potentially stifling innovation. Most importantly, Douse believes that constant negativity can discourage developers and ultimately harm both the industry and the quality of games.

Image via Wildlight Entertainment

It’s not new that negative feedback spreads more quickly than positive, and Highguard isn’t the first game to receive criticism. However, the situation with Highguard is particularly interesting, and many developers are watching closely because the level of criticism seems disproportionate to the game’s actual flaws. While players generally agree the game could be improved, some believe it actually excels in certain areas compared to other hero shooters. Unfortunately, the negative aspects have received much more focus. Douse suggested that developers can still find dedicated players and affordable ways to improve, potentially helping studios like Wildlight, but overall, a lot of negativity remains.

I’ve been following the discussion around game reviews lately, and it’s gotten pretty heated! It seems like Douse and Puha agree with what Swen Vincke, the head of Larian, was saying – he initially suggested critics should post scores like on Metacritic before writing their reviews, though he later took that back a bit. Basically, he was talking about how game criticism seems to be getting really harsh, maybe just for the clicks and attention. A lot of people online seem to agree with that idea, thinking critics should be more thoughtful. But there’s also a strong argument that fans and reviewers shouldn’t be afraid to point out flaws in games, even if it means being critical of developers. It’s a tough balance – wanting to support creators versus expecting quality!

Image via Wildlight Entertainment

The future of the game Highguard is still up in the air, but Wildlight Entertainment is listening to player feedback and already releasing updates. They’ve also shared a detailed plan for new content over the next year. This effort, combined with support from other game developers asking players to be patient, could help the game and the studio recover. It’s unclear how the broader discussion about online criticism will play out, but Highguard has definitely sparked a lot of conversation.

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2026-01-29 18:04