Highguard Proves the Crucial Importance of Beta Testing

On paper, I am the quintessential target demographic for Highguard. My career was built on a deep-seated love for hero shooters, specifically Apex Legends, and I still hold out a flickering hope for Titanfall 3. While I found its “one last thing” reveal at The Game Awards somewhat head-scratching, I approached the title with an open mind. The movement was fluid and the gunplay felt tactile, yet there was an undeniable void at the game’s core. I am clearly not the only one who felt this way; in the month following its disastrous debut, I’ve been haunted by a single question: How did a project with this much pedigree stumble so spectacularly?

The post-mortem has become clearer over the last few weeks. A deep dive from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier highlighted the internal rot: according to former Wildlight Entertainment staff, a combination of executive hubris and a blatant disregard for rigorous playtesting effectively sealed Highguard‘s fate before it even reached the public.

The statistics tell a tragic story. On launch day, the game boasted a respectable 100,000 concurrent players on Steam; today, that number has shriveled to a heartbreaking 469. This commercial cratering led to immediate, sweeping layoffs at Wildlight. The news was a gut punch, particularly because the studio—stacked with veterans from Respawn and Call of Duty—had marketed itself as a sanctuary from the typical corporate machine. We eventually learned that the studio was secretly bankrolled by the Chinese titan Tencent. Once the launch metrics dipped, Tencent withdrew its support, leaving the developers out in the cold.

Image: Wildlight Entertainment

In the wake of the studio’s downsizing, former developer Josh Sobel took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his perspective on the development cycle. His insights revealed a dangerous level of “toxic optimism” regarding the game’s chances in an already saturated market. Sobel noted that internal feedback and curated press previews were overwhelmingly positive, with peers even suggesting the project was “lightning in a bottle.”

The fatal flaw here is that small-scale, controlled tests with influencers and journalists are no substitute for the unpredictable behavior of hundreds of thousands of players. A preview event, where a developer is on hand to guide you through the friction points, is a far cry from a solo session at home. Highguard didn’t need a surprise shadow-drop; it needed the scrutiny of a public beta.

An open beta could have been the game’s salvation. It would have exposed the glaring issues that players immediately identified: bloated map sizes, sluggish match openings, and the vestigial “Vesper-mining” mechanic—a leftover from when Highguard was envisioned as a survival shooter. Moreover, beta feedback might have convinced management to launch with a more compelling roster of Wardens, rather than withholding the most visually interesting characters for future seasons that will likely never see the light of day.

I can empathize with the desire to keep a project under wraps, especially when the development team includes the architects of Titanfall and the creators of Call of Duty’s most infamous missions. However, the modern live-service landscape is too volatile for secrecy. Even a heavyweight like Marvel Rivals utilized closed betas despite its massive IP leverage. Highguard, an unknown entity, simply couldn’t afford that lack of transparency.

Image: Wildlight Entertainment

To their credit, the remaining skeleton crew at Wildlight has been incredibly agile in responding to player critiques. They made the 5v5 mode permanent almost immediately after player demand spiked, and they continue to release lore updates and small content drops. While most failed shooters end up like Concord or Suicide Squad, there’s a sliver of hope that Highguard could pull off a No Man’s Sky-style redemption arc. Even Splitgate: Arena Reloaded continues to persist against the odds.

Ultimately, Highguard serves as a cautionary tale. In a market this fickle, you cannot afford to guess what your audience wants. Success requires more than just a legendary resume; it requires the humility to listen to your players before the launch button is pressed. Had Wildlight embraced the community sooner, they might have avoided a great deal of heartache.

Source: Polygon