Highguard’s Player Count Has Already Plummeted by 80%

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Okay, so I’ve been checking out Highguard, the new game from Wildlight Entertainment, and honestly, the player numbers have dropped off pretty quickly. But I don’t think it’s a total write-off just yet. The problem is, they announced it as a last-minute thing at The Game Awards last year, and that really hurt it. It felt like they didn’t give it a proper introduction, and everyone immediately started comparing it to Concord, which, you know, didn’t do so well. It just didn’t get a fair chance, and people were expecting something different. I’m hoping they can turn things around, but it’s an uphill battle right now.

Something remarkable about Highguard was how soon it came out after being announced – just over a month passed between reveal and launch. Despite a lot of negative feedback online beforehand, the game still drew in thousands of players. This caused technical difficulties and matchmaking issues, ultimately leading to negative reviews (and partly because it’s a hero shooter).

Highguard Steam Player Count Chart

Image via Steam DB

Despite a rocky start with technical problems and some negative feedback, Highguard has seen a significant drop in players. The game launched with nearly 97,000 concurrent players, but now peaks at around 19,000. That’s about an 80% decrease. Currently, around 11,500 people are playing (as of 2:30pm CST on Wednesday, January 28). While this is concerning for fans of the game, it’s worth remembering that another game by the same developers, Concord, never even reached 700 concurrent players, making Highguard much more successful by comparison.

One of Highguard’s biggest strengths is that it’s free to play, unlike Concord which cost $40. While Highguard does have some of the same monetization issues as other ongoing live-service games, the gameplay itself is really enjoyable. It features satisfying shooting and a creative mix of features that make for an exciting experience. If players start talking positively about it, Highguard could attract a larger audience over time.

We don’t have player numbers for Highguard on PlayStation 5 and Xbox, so we can’t tell how popular the game is on those consoles.

Wildlight Entertainment has big plans to keep Highguard growing after its release. Their roadmap for 2026 shows they’ll be regularly adding significant new content, including a new playable character approximately every two months, along with plenty of other updates.

This weekend will be a crucial test for Highguard. Since the game launched on a Monday—not typically a busy time for gamers—its performance now will really show if it can succeed in the long run. If developers can fix the matchmaking and other technical issues, Highguard has a good chance of attracting new players and keeping its existing community happy.

It’s possible that Highguard could lose players over time, just like Concord and other online shooters that have closed down. However, Highguard started with a strong player base, so it should last much longer than Concord did. It’s unclear if it will have the long-term success of a game like Overwatch, but it will be fascinating to watch how Highguard changes and develops in the coming months.

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2026-01-29 00:07