Highguard which became the first multiplayer shooter to offer free gameplay has reached its first playercount decline when active players dropped below 3000 on Steam. A gaming commentator shared the news through social media which led to people discussing both the game performance and its upcoming developments. The free access to the game has caused playercount decline to reach dangerous levels which now threatens the game’s capacity to retain players.
The main topic of our discussion needs to proceed forward. The tweet from Pirat_Nation just kinda dropped this little bomb, you know? The game Highguard which had promised to deliver something special has now dropped to less than 3000 players who use Steam. The post included a statement which said “The game is free to play.” because that serves as the main point of the post. The game struggles to attract players because it offers free access instead of being a paid product. People experienced their maximum level of disappointment.
The replies to the post create an atmosphere which totally defines the term. The present gaming environment displays everything about its current state in this specific moment. The JSH players who defend the game called it “pretty fun” while he blamed “hivemind bots” for the negative reviews. Lee_Vertisce who reached his limit now joins others who state “Doesn’t matter if it’s free. The game sucks and it’s a waste of time.” The statement provides him with a definite conclusion regarding the matter.
The comments which people make become more intense as time progresses. The discussion extends beyond our main topic which deals with gameplay. User 2PieceHitter described the development team as having “0 white straight competitive gamer males” who they classified as “DEI hires” because they believed that those individuals caused design decisions which included mouse acceleration and the elimination of K/D scoreboard displays. The Steam charts conversation now contains a complete political debate which shows how unusual this situation has become. SullaLC5 another user posted “Dev team full of pronouns. Woke = broke.” with a laughing emoji. The discussion has expanded beyond server population issues to include many other topics.
The system requires both technical elements and another component. ThePrometheu5 wanted to experience the game but they said its “so poorly optimized” design prevents their PC from handling it yet their system can run Valorant without problems. The competitive shooter needs to reach its basic performance standard so that it can attract more players to join its community. Players will leave the game if it fails to deliver its essential performance standards.
The humorous jokes create a large amount of appealing humor which people find amusing. User imoqz9 created a short but powerful insult which said “High guard become low guard.” User EJPBDK wanted to make an amusing remark about getting a refund yet he discovered that even that additional money had no value. The free game presents users with a unique experience because it provides them with a special form of burning for the game. The low value of the game makes it difficult for people to dedicate their cognitive resources needed to create powerful insults.
People are attempting to manage their emotions during this situation. User xDafuture accused the original poster of being dishonest for not posting during peak hours when the number might be a bit higher, like 5k. The other responses to the question rejected that explanation without any doubt. The game required D4nkL0Rd to explain that 5k concurrent users operated as the minimum requirement because the player count he provided did not sustain the game. RealEnacoid asked whether “cope” would last forever while he predicted that the game’s user count would decline to between 1 and 2 thousand users within a week. The hope for success stands at very low levels.
Geoff Keighley has entered the scene, which creates a strange situation that people should understand. A couple of users, like crictorz and Thecodemantic, asked when he’s going to apologize. Players seem to think the game reached its maximum marketing potential because they perceive the marketing as overselling the product. The game launch excitement dies immediately when a game fails to provide a good user experience.
The video game community includes players who develop genuine sorrow through their gaming activities. SergLazaPal expressed his deep disappointment about the game when he said “Sad. I really enjoy playing this game.” The user alexandrel33t called the game “amanzgly fun” in his response. The game has a dedicated player base which exists because actual fans support it but their impact becomes invisible because most people prefer to criticize the game through memes. The situation creates a challenging position.
Highguard requires new players because the game needs to attract fresh users. The player count for the game which dropped to this level after reaching this speed constitutes a critical indicator of danger. The gameplay experience needs to operate through the continuous presence of players on PlayStation and Xbox.
