Highguard is a 5v5 Hero Shooter an absolutely dull game that in its short lifespan garnered 100,000 players. If it seems like I am just not willing to write this it may be because you could just look at Concord and have a very similar if not the same experience. So what brought us to this point? Why was the game bad? What does oversaturation of this genre even do?

To answer these questions we need to actually go back to the Game Awards in 2025. If you don’t know about it is essentially a rewards show for the games released in the year and seeing which one takes home the gold. While, most can usually guess the winners what people actually tune in for is the last part of the show where announcements for some games are made. This was Highguard’s first drama. Highguard was given the coveted last spot in the show. Traditionally this spot is for the biggest game and the most anticipated the one most want eyes on. While not a bad choice there were other choices that would have seemed a better fit either further in development or from a popular IP.

Highguard then was in front of everyone making most ask why. Even though this game was from the same developers as Apex and Titanfall it doesn’t show their experience well. Most just wanted either a spiritual successor or something made that felt like both those games. Instead it is a 5v5 shooter that fails to stand out. This is also because it really can’t compete with what already exists Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch 2 have the benefit of being the ones to popularize this genre, Marvel Rivals has tons of characters that fit and stay true to the characters in the Marvel comics and movies, and all three have updated and added tons of quality of life. Highguard came to the table with nothing to offer. Other games did everything this game tried to do and better. Still at its peak the game got 100,000 players meaning people were still willing to try it now all it had to do was keep the players and entertain them. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be happening, the developers seem more interested in fighting critics than showing anything interesting or helping this game stand out.

Titanfall and Apex Legends are amazing games and this dud in the developers catalogue shouldn’t be the defining factor that leads to closure of the studio. The team can recover either by reworking this game or creating something that does showcase the talents of its developers. People love the work that Apex and Titanfall have that’s why so may were willing to give Highguard a shot while they missed the mark this time hopefully they have learned and are willing to try again or they can keep fighting critics till they have nothing left.