Highguard hate is ‘downright horrible’, Epic co-founder says as Wildlight’s shooter battles backlash
Game developers have rallied behind Highguard after the free-to-play shooter suffered a wave of negative reviews at launch, with industry figures warning that hostile criticism risks harming new studios and the people behind their titles.
Game developers from across the industry have come to the defence of Highguard after Wildlight Entertianment’s title faced fierce backlash at launch.
The free-to-play PvP raid shooter debuted this week after a surprise reveal at The Game Awards last month, followed by a near-silent run-up to its January 26, 2026 launch.
On Steam, Highguard peaked at just over 97,000 concurrent players - a strong showing for a new IP - but that early momentum was quickly undercut by a “mostly negative” user review score.
Player criticism has focused on the game’s large, sparsely populated maps, long resource-gathering phases, performance issues on PC, and a perceived mismatch between its 3v3 format and the scale of its environments.
While many praise the mount system and raid-focused combat, others argue the overall experience lacks pace and content.
As criticism mounted, several well-known developers came to Wildlight’s defence.
Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games, called the reaction “downright horrible”, adding that players should approach games - especially free ones from new studios - with curiosity rather than hostility.
Meanwhile, Larian Studios and Baldur’s Gate III boss Swen Vincke echoed that view, urging critics to express dissatisfaction without personal attacks and warning that sustained vitriol risks driving passionate creators out of the industry.
Vincke added: “Putting something out into the world makes you vulnerable, and that alone deserves respect, even if you dislike the creation.
“It’s easy to destroy things, it’s a lot harder to build them. The best critics understand this. Even when they’re being critical, they do their best not to be hurtful.”
Cliff Blenszinski - whose live-service title LawBreakers critically and commercially disappointed - added the hate for new games has been “exhausting”.
He said: “When did it become trendy to hate on a new game? Been seeing it more and more in recent years. It's exhausting.”
