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Highguard: The Failure of a Game and the Culture of Toxic Positivity in the Industry
The video analyzes the rapid decline of the game Highguard, the recent wave of layoffs at Wildlight, and the controversy generated by a developer who blamed content creators and online users for the game's failure. It is argued that 'toxic positivity' and a lack of self-criticism within the development team contributed significantly to the game's failure, along with the saturation of the live service games market.
1. 📉 The Rapid Decline of Highguard and the Layoffs at Wildlight
- ✅ The game Highguard lost its player base in less than two weeks after its launch.
- ⚠️ Wildlight, the studio behind Highguard, laid off most of its staff only two weeks after the game's launch.
- ℹ️ There are plans to maintain a core team to continue supporting the game and release the content already developed.
00:00 - 00:54
1. 📉 The Rapid Decline of Highguard and the Layoffs at Wildlight
- ✅ The game Highguard lost its player base in less than two weeks after its launch.
- ⚠️ Wildlight, the studio behind Highguard, laid off most of its staff only two weeks after the game's launch.
- ℹ️ There are plans to maintain a core team to continue supporting the game and release the content already developed.
00:55 - 02:34
2. 🤔 Blaming Others: A Developer Points to Content Creators
- ⚠️ A Highguard developer blamed content creators and online users for the game's failure.
- ✅ The game retains approximately 1% of its player base since launch.
- 💡 It is suggested that the game needs new game modes to improve its appeal.
02:35 - 03:21
3. 🔄 The Problematic Trend of Live Service Games
- ⚠️ The video criticizes the industry's trend of focusing on live service games, noting that success stories are rare.
- 💡 It is argued that Highguard could have been a Borderlands-style open-world cooperative game, but instead, it became what it is.
03:22 - 04:25
4. 💸 Layoffs and Possible Future Scenarios for Highguard
- ✅ A Wildlight level designer confirmed the layoffs and the existence of unreleased content for Highguard.
- 💡 It is speculated that Wildlife could close the studio, remove the game from stores, and refund microtransactions.
- ⚠️ Investors are likely unhappy with the game's rapid failure.
04:26 - 05:31
5. 🎮 Market Saturation and the Success of Single-Player Games
- ⚠️ It is argued that the live service game genre is saturated.
- ✅ Most recent success stories are single-player games or games with live service elements.
- 💡 Batman Arkham Knight is mentioned as an example of how to add additional content to a single-player game effectively.
05:32 - 06:47
6. 🗣️ Internal Criticism: A 3D Animator Talks About Generic Multiplayer Games
- ✅ A 3D animator publicly criticized the trend of studios creating generic competitive multiplayer games.
- ⚠️ The need to have serious conversations about this issue in the industry is highlighted.
- 💡 It is argued that many studios are wasting resources trying to create the next Fortnite.
06:48 - 07:34
7. 🔁 Repeating Mistakes and the Importance of Honest Criticism
- ✅ It is noted that former Concord developers worked on Highguard, repeating the same result.
- 💡 The importance of honest criticism to improve games is emphasized.
- ⚠️ 'Toxic positivity' can lead to the creation of mediocre games.
07:35 - 08:26
8. 🤔 Questionable Decisions and the Risk to the Horizon Franchise
- ⚠️ Concern is expressed about the game Horizon Hunters and the risk it poses to the Horizon franchise.
- 💡 The situation is compared to Rocksteady making Kill the Justice League before Arkham Knight.
- ✅ The trend of studios chasing the next big hit instead of focusing on what they do well is criticized.
08:27 - 09:58
9. 📢 Jeff Keighley and Criticism of his Excess of Optimism
- ⚠️ Jeff Keighley is criticized for overvaluing Highguard at the Game Awards 2025.
- 💡 It is argued that Jeff needs to be more critical and less emotional in his evaluations.
- ✅ 'Fake positivity' in the industry and the lack of honesty in evaluations are criticized.
09:59 - 11:41
10. 🚫 The Need for Brutal Honesty and the Failure to Learn from Mistakes
- ✅ The need for brutal honesty in game development is emphasized.
- ⚠️ The industry's tendency not to learn from failures is criticized.
- 💡 It is highlighted that single-player games have dominated the Game of the Year awards in recent years.
11:42 - 12:59
11. 🎯 The Irony of the Cycle: From Independence to Corporate Slavery
- ⚠️ The irony that the Apex Legends developers who wanted to escape the AAA gaming space ended up creating another AAA live service game is highlighted.
- 💡 It is argued that 'toxic positivity' killed Highguard.
- ✅ No one on the team had the courage to say that the game wasn't working.
13:00 - 16:21
12. 😡 A Developer's Rant and Blame on Content Creators
- ⚠️ A Highguard technical artist blamed content creators for the game's failure.
- 💡 The developer claimed that the game could not have failed based on what they were told internally.
- ✅ The developer also blamed gamer culture and negative reviews on Steam.
16:22 - 17:30
13. 🎭 Denial of Reality and Lack of Self-Criticism
- ⚠️ The developer claimed that gamers didn't give Wildlight a chance.
- 💡 It is argued that Highguard has no redeeming qualities.
- ✅ The lack of self-criticism in game development is criticized.
17:31 - 19:51
14. 🔚 Conclusion: The Need for Real Criticism and the End of Toxic Positivity
- 💡 The game is described as a mix of capture the flag, search and destroy with horses and Overwatch powers.
- ⚠️ It is argued that developers need to be open to real criticism and ask themselves difficult questions.
- ✅ The video concludes by expressing disappointment with the developer's response and calling for an end to 'toxic positivity'.