RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular

RIP Highguard: In a better world, an FPS is allowed to be unpopular | 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’ FPS If you’re hoping to make friends in Marathon like you can in Arc Raiders, expect a knife in the back FPS Is Marathon’s time-to-kill too fast, or am I too Arc Raiders-pilled? FPS The Marathon server slam consumed my weekend: 21 hours later, I’ve gone from ‘meh’ to believer 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 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’ Third Person Shooter Embark admits Arc Raiders’ bosses are dying too fast because ‘they’re not intended for the full server to go up against’ and ‘we gave players too effective abilities’ FPS The many-boxed roadmap represents everything I hate about shooters right now FPS Highguard didn’t flop Third Person Shooter Remember Postal? 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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? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. 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From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter FOV 90 (Image credit: Future)Welcome to FOV 90, an FPS column from staff writer Morgan Park. Every other week, I cover topics relevant to first-person shooter enjoyers, spanning everything from multiplayer and singleplayer to the old and the new.Wildlight Entertainment announced today that Highguard is shutting down on March 12. Servers will go offline just 45 days after they went online, cementing the 3v3 “raid shooter” as another live service boondoggle.I won’t relitigate the noxious cloud of internet that surrounded Highguard, because ultimately, premature “hate playing” is not the reason it’s going away. Highguard is shutting down because live service games are not allowed to be unpopular.It’s important to establish that Highguard had fans. Thousands of people were playing it—its regular concurrents hung around 400 on Steam and at least double that on PS5, according to game director Chad Grenier. Remember, peak concurrents are not a measure of how many total people played a game that day—that number is usually much higher but never public. Related articles Highguard didn’t flop 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’ ‘We don’t need [player counts] to be super huge in order to be successful’: Highguard devs respond to posters declaring it dead on arrival For a brand new studio making its first game, I’d say that’s pretty good. Highguard wasn’t popular, but neither are dozens of multiplayer shooters that’ve stuck around for years. This pattern of games shutting down just days, weeks, or months after they debut is still a very recent, ugly phenomenon. It’s one thing to stop actively developing an FPS with a small audience and move on to greener pastures. It’s another to throw it away like it was trash. (Image credit: Wildlight Interactive)To treat this like it’s normal is to let the morons who make these calls off the hook. In this case, Tencent was reportedly Wildli