In a recent interview with Polygon, Highguard director Chad Grenier stated that player count “doesn’t matter” to developer Wildlight Entertainment. Instead, Grenier says that player enjoyment is the true metric by which Wildlight wants Highguard to succeed.
A new multiplayer “raid shooter,” Highguard has had a rather shaky start. Highguard made its debut at The Game Awards 2025, where it was revealed as the show’s ‘one more thing’ announcement, a spot usually reserved for reveals from high-profile developers like Capcom and Naughty Dog. A report in the following weeks confirmed that Geoff Keighley had actually offered the spot to Highguard‘s developers free of charge, and although Wildlight Entertainment originally planned to shadow-drop the game, it couldn’t pass on the opportunity to get it in front of the masses. Wildlight went radio silent following Highguard‘s announcement, but the game launched as planned on January 26, where it was met with a mixed reception from players.
Highguard Review
Wildlight Entertainment’s debut game Highguard is a thrilling blend of other shooter games that could become your next multiplayer obsession.
Highguard’s Director Says Player Count “Doesn’t Matter” As Much As Player Enjoyment
Polygon’s Austin Manchester recently interviewed some of the key developers behind Highguard. One of those devs was Chad Grenier, a co-founder and the studio head of Wildlight Entertainment, and Highguard‘s game director. In the closing moments of the interview write-up, Polygon states that “what’s most important” to Wildlight is trying to create a game that “people love and becomes part of them,” as opposed to achieving a high player count. Grenier’s full statement reads:
“Whether it gets a thousand people or a hundred million people, it doesn’t matter. What matters most is that the game is loved by the people who played it.”
Highguard’s Player Count Has Been Steadily Dropping Since Launch
|
Date |
Highguard 24-Hour Peak Player Count |
|---|---|
|
January 26 |
97,249 |
|
January 27 |
39,832 |
|
January 28 |
19,294 |
|
January 29 |
12,748 |
|
January 30 |
11,517 |
|
January 31 |
15,147 |
|
February 1 |
13,119 |
|
February 2 |
~10,000 |
According to tracker site SteamDB, Highguard debuted on Steam with a day-one peak player count of 97,249 players. Of course, these numbers only pertain to those playing Highguard on PC via Steam, and do not take into account player counts on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Highguard‘s player count has been steadily declining since launch day, beginning with a major drop on January 27 that saw a peak player count of 39,832. This marked a 59% decrease in players. Three days later (January 30), Highguard‘s peak player count on Steam was just 11,517, an 88% decrease since launch day.
Over the last weekend, however, Highguard experienced a slight spike in player count. On Saturday, January 31, Highguard‘s 24-hour peak rose to 15,147 players. This slight rise coincided with the release of several sizable updates that brought various performance improvements and tweaks to the game. These updates also added an experimental 5v5 mode, which aimed to address one of the most common criticisms surrounding Highguard, that the game’s maps felt too large for 3v3 lobby sizes. Via an X post on February 2, Highguard‘s developers confirmed that this 5v5 mode will be a permanent feature of the game moving forward.
But despite the positive reception Wildlight Entertainment has received following its decision to add 5v5 to Highguard, the game’s player count has started to decline once again. February 2 marked Highguard‘s lowest peak player count yet, with around 10,000 people playing concurrently via Steam. As of February 3 at 12pm ET, there are just 4,945 players on Highguard, marking an almost 95% dropoff in player-base since Highguard‘s launch on January 26.
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On the other side of the coin, Highguard‘s critical reception has technically improved a fair amount since its debut last week. Within hours of Highguard launching, it had received a ‘Mostly Negative’ Steam user review score. Highguard‘s user score now sits at a ‘Mixed’ rating with over 35,000 reviews, 15,468 of which are positive.
- Released
-
January 26, 2026
- Developer(s)
-
Wildlight Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
-
Wildlight Entertainment
- Multiplayer
-
Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
-
Full
Source: Polygon
