Highguard's failure is emblematic of something that has tormented videogame investors for years now: past live service hits do not equal future live service hits

Highguard’s failure is emblematic of something that has tormented videogame investors for years now: past live service hits do not equal future live service hits | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these Assassin’s Creed Former Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry director says Ubisoft ‘became very allergic’ to new games, which contributed to a ‘talent drain’ Gaming Industry 3 months after laying off a bunch of people, Splash Damage has become ‘Splash Damage Group’ and acquired another studio FPS Hours before its open preview weekend, Marathon is suddenly very close to the top of Steam’s top sellers list Action Just Cause dev co-founder says the studio got too big and ‘numbers focused,’ so he quit and made a $25 open world crime brawler FPS Highguard is closing next week: ‘Despite the passion and hard work of our team, we have not been able to build a sustainable player base to support the game long term’ FPS Highguard developers were surprised by layoff notices, new report says: They thought they’d have at least a few months to work on it but when Tencent ended funding, there was nothing left Gaming Industry Amazon’s gaming walkback continues as it ends publishing deal for a new racing game being headed up by former Forza Horizon creative director Assassin’s Creed The director of the first Assassin’s Creed with naval battles found it ‘bizarre’ to watch Skull and Bones’ agonisingly long development, because it was ‘essentially the same stuff re-shipping 14 years after we made it’ FPS Highguard didn’t flop FPS RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular FPS The many-boxed roadmap represents everything I hate about shooters right now FPS 16 days after Highguard’s launch, the studio has laid off ‘most of the staff’ FPS Highguard review Gaming Industry Videogames are ‘losing in the War for Attention’: Analyst says many of the industry’s biggest markets are spending less time on gaming FPS Laid-off Highguard developer cuts loose on the reaction to the infamous Game Awards reveal trailer: ‘We were turned into a joke from minute one’ PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Resident EvilArc RaidersBest PC gearGame Quizzes Games FPS Highguard Highguard’s failure is emblematic of something that has tormented videogame investors for years now: past live service hits do not equal future live service hits Features By Tyler Wilde published 4 March 2026 Another live service game is heading to the graveyard. Will the industry keep trying? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Wildlight Entertainment) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? 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Subscribe to our newsletter Tyler Wilde, US EIC (Image credit: Future)This week: Tyler has been making plans for PCG’s coverage of next week’s Game Developers Conference, which should shed more light on the issues at play here.Every time a game like Highguard craters, we collectively wonder why the games industry keeps chasing huge live service hits when so many of them utterly fail.The obvious answer is that, well, sometimes you do end up with a Helldivers 2, and you make hundreds of millions of dollars and everyone thinks you’re really smart. But clearly, those bets are enormously risky, and one of the reasons they’re so risky is a reality of today’s games biz that has been tormenting executives and investors for years now: At least when it comes to live service games, past hits do not seem to be a good indicator of future hits. Like, at all.For the past month, I’ve been hearing grievances from headline-only readers about my statement that “Highguard didn’t flop,” and it serves me right for trying to be clever, but what I pointed out beneath that headline—which I meant as a rhetorical jab, not a flat denial of reality—is that very few new shooters achieve the kind of instant hit status that Highguard needed to in order to keep the studio afloat. Related articles Highguard didn’t flop RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular Laid-off Highguard developer cuts loose on the reaction to the infamous Game Awards reveal trailer: ‘We were turned into a joke from minute one’ As indicated by the reporting that has happened since, studio leaders hoped they could repeat the success of Apex Legends, which many of Highguard’s developers worked on. And if you’re an investor hoping for a big live