It’s only been 48 hours since its launch, and the Steam Highguard player count has plummeted. Why has the new free-to-play multiplayer generated so much hate? Here is everything you need to know about the Highguard backlash, and why the game is being hated on by the gaming community.
Highguard Backlash Explained
Before we jump into this, let it be said that Highguard is a perfectly fine game. It doesn’t do anything terrible, but it also doesn’t do anything extremely well either. Again, it’s a decent game. However, the new multiplayer title from Wildlight Entertainment has struggled to make a splash with players.
Following its launch on January 28, Highguard’s player count has dropped significantly on Steam, as the title continues to be the butt of many online jokes and criticism. If you aren’t chronically online, you may be wondering why Highguard is getting so much backlash. It’s not as bad as Sony PlayStation’s failed Concord, yet it seems to be generating a similar reaction from gaming audiences.
Why Players Are Upset With Highguard
Here are the main reasons players are not liking Highguard:
- It was a disappointing “final game reveal” at the Game Awards 2026 ceremony.
- Performance Issues (on PC).
- 3v3 Mode doesn’t work on a map so big.
- Gear-up phase is “boring”.
- Character designs are “bland.”
- Missing Game Chat & Party Features at launch.
- It tries to be “too many” games.
- Expensive in-game currency.
However, by far the biggest thing driving the Highguard hate is the Game Awards 2026 reveal. Despite this controversial moment happening back in December 2025, many players have seemingly still not forgotten about it.
Highguard’s Controversial Game Awards Reveal
Simply put, Highguard was a disappointing “last reveal” at The Game Awards 2025 event. Following the ending of the show, the game went trending online for all the wrong reasons. Many players felt disappointed by the reveal, and were critical of host Geoff Keighley for picking the multiplayer as the event’s final showcase.
Some viewers even accused the studio of “paying” for the spot. To be clear, this has been completely debunked. Geoff Keighley genuinely was just excited for the game and thought it would be the next big thing like Apex Legends. Speaking of Geoff, the industry veteran doubled down on his support of the game on X leading up to its launch.
In a January 24 post on the platform, he posted a Jurassic Park meme that said, “In 48 hours, I’ll be accepting your apologies.” However, following Highguard’s divisive launch, Geoff Keighley then acknowledged that many players weren’t happy with the game by posting the “share your controversial opinion” Tangled meme. All this to say, Highguard’s The Game Awards reveal might have been a miscalculation that generated unintended backlash.
Highguard Feels Like a Confused Game
I can speak from personal experience on this topic, having played the game. Highguard is a bit of a weird mishmash of multiple different games. However, the biggest problem is its 3v3 team setup. The game’s map is way too big for just three-player teams. This is especially a problem in the game’s early-stage phases, where you are building up defense and getting resources.
Basically, it takes too long to finally get to the battle portion. And even when you do, there aren’t enough players for a map of that size to make it feel constantly engaging. It’s a shame, because Highguard has some of the best gunplay and gameplay in any multiplayer out this year. But I really do think the game is trying to be too many titles at once. But hey, that’s just my opinion.
Steamdb Highguard Player Count
Hours after its launch, Highguard was flooded with negative reviews on Steam. As I mentioned earlier, most of the criticism was split between users calling the multiplayer “boring” or accounts complaining about performance issues. At the time of writing, the game is sitting at “Mostly Negative” on Steam, with a total of 19,571 reviews counted. Unfortunately, its player count isn’t much better.
According to SteamDB, the Highguard player count is currently sitting at 10,745. Although the game initially peaked at 97,249 users, it quickly crashed down to as low as 6,927 active players. That means Steam Highguard has suffered a staggering 92.9% drop in active players in just 48 hours since its launch. That’s not good.
Although it should be pointed out that we don’t know what the Highguard PS5 player count is, the game also launched on Xbox Series X and is free-to-play on all platforms. So only time will tell whether future updates and reactions to player feedback can bring users back to the new multiplayer title. For now, though, Highguard is currently the most hated game of 2026.
The post Why Highguard Is Facing So Much Backlash From Players appeared first on VICE.
