Former Highguard Dev Criticizes Players for 'Slandering' Game Before Playing

Developer Josh Sobel reflects on the game's poor reception and calls out players for judging it before even trying it.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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A former developer of the free-to-play first-person shooter Highguard, Josh Sobel, has criticized players for "slandering" the game before they even had a chance to play it. Highguard launched to over 97,000 concurrent players on Steam, but those numbers quickly dwindled, leading to layoffs at the studio. Sobel says the game was met with hate and vitriol from the start, with players mocking the developers and leaving negative reviews without finishing the tutorial. He argues that this kind of pre-conceived negativity makes it harder for new multiplayer games to succeed, stifling innovation in the industry.

Why it matters

Highguard's rocky launch and the developer's comments highlight the challenges facing new multiplayer games, especially free-to-play titles, in breaking through and finding an audience. The game's failure, despite a strong initial player count, raises questions about the power of first impressions and the impact of negative discourse on a title's chances of success, even before players have had a chance to experience it.

The details

Highguard, a new free-to-play first-person shooter, launched with over 97,000 concurrent players on Steam. However, those numbers quickly declined, leading developer Wildlight Entertainment to confirm layoffs of several staff members. One of the impacted developers, Josh Sobel, a technical artist who worked on the game, took to social media to reflect on the game's poor reception. Sobel says the game was met with hate and vitriol from the start, with players mocking the developers and leaving negative reviews without even finishing the tutorial. He argues that this pre-conceived negativity, fueled by a poorly received trailer at The Game Awards, played a significant role in the game's failure, making it harder for new multiplayer games to succeed and stifling innovation in the industry.

  • Highguard launched in February 2026.
  • The game's trailer debuted at The Game Awards prior to launch.

The players

Josh Sobel

A technical artist who worked on Highguard and was impacted by the layoffs at Wildlight Entertainment.

Dusty Welch

The chief executive officer of Wildlight Entertainment, the studio behind Highguard.

Wildlight Entertainment

The independent, self-published, dev-led studio that developed Highguard.

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What they’re saying

“But then the trailer came out, and it was all downhill from there.”

— Josh Sobel, Technical Artist (X (formerly Twitter)

“They laughed at me for being proud of the game, told me to get out the McDonald's applications, and mocked me for listing having autism in my bio, which they seemed to think was evidence the game would be 'woke trash.'”

— Josh Sobel, Technical Artist (X (formerly Twitter)

“Look, I wish Highguard had been received better. I wish the feedback had been better. Part of that's on us, right? We didn't put our heads in the sand. We, as a team, saw the feedback. We're gamers ourselves. We're online ourselves reading the feedback.”

— Dusty Welch, CEO (Interview)

What’s next

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The takeaway

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