Highguard, the 3v3 shooter whose trailer held the coveted ‘last shown’ spot at the 2025 Game Awards has launched to a decidedly poor reception. The team shooter, created by Wildlight Entertainment, Inc. launched on the evening of Jan. 26, quickly peaking at over 97,000 players.
However, with the game now sits with a “Mostly Negative” user review score, having haemorrhaged players, and has just 16,000 active users at the time of writing, a fall off of around 80%. Meanwhile, unlaunched, invite-only competitor, Deadlock, hit a new peak.
The contrast in the two games, Highguard and Deadlock, and their reception, couldn’t be more stark. Highguard was boosted to the moon by a shock appearance in the closing spot in The Game Awards 2025, one that was reportedly not sought after. After radio silence for over a month, Highguard launched to mass criticism.
Players pointed to the huge map size for a 3v3 leading to little action, performance issues, and a lack of depth. Additionally, for those solo queuing, long wait times and matchmaking problems caused many to abandon the game. After a 97,000 user peak an hour after launch, the game fell to 65,000 an hour later, and now sits at under 17k, less than 24 hours after release.
Highguard. Image Credit: Wildlight Entertainment, Inc.
Meanwhile, Deadlock is celebrating the near inverse, reaching 98,887 concurrent players in the same time frame. This number represents the highest player count since October of 2024, a few months after the game was first publicly announced. Deadlock remains in a closed beta, with access only available through invite, although any Deadlock player is able to give out invites to their friends.
Deadlock’s new peak for the past year comes after the release of a huge Old Gods, New Blood update, which added new Patrons, upgraded bases, a brand new fast-paced Street Brawl game type, and hundreds of quality-of-life changes. Additionally, six new heroes are set to be added to the game over the next three weeks, with a new hero added every Monday and Thursday, based on a voting system.
Highguard unfortuantely found itself competing with adorable new Deadlock hero, Rem. Image credit: Valve
The first new hero added, coincidentally on the same date as Highguard’s release, was Rem, an adorable cat-bird. Rem’s lore was described in his release notes:
“An accidental stowaway from the world of dreams, Rem has found himself stranded in the city that never sleeps. Pillow fights are Rem’s preferred form of conflict, tossing his favorite pillow at enemies to knock them back when they’re getting too close.”
While the two games, Highguard and Deadlock, don’t immediately draw comparisons (they’re both hero shooters, but their similarities end there), it’s clear that some players yearning for a new shooter saw one, felt disappointed, and sought out the other.
Highguard clearly has some issues, and releasing the same date as a new cute character for Deadlock was the least of their worries. Described by some as a “bedwars” shooter (after the Minecraft multiplayer game type), Highguard’s anachronisms have clearly turned off some players. While its 3v3, gathering resources and siege gameplay is unique, it’s not immediately interesting. Highguard has a lot of work to do to build some staying power.
Stick with Jaxon.gg for more gaming news, guides, and more.
Featured Image Credit: Highguard. Wildlight Entertainment, Inc.
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
