Highguard boss says the player count “doesn’t matter”

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Chad Grenier, the head of Highguard, says player numbers aren’t important, and that the priority is making sure players who do play genuinely enjoy the game.

Developers from Wildlight Entertainment, a team of about 60 people with experience on games like Apex Legends and Titanfall, recently spoke with Polygon about the making of their new game, Highguard. They revealed they explored many different ideas for a competitive shooter – coming up with new pitches daily – before finally deciding on the concept that became Highguard.

After a long period of experimentation, the game’s director, Chad Grenier, feels they’ve created something truly original.

He believes their game is unique. While other games might share some similar features, he’s confident that nothing else offers quite the same overall experience.

Highguard boss cares more about the game being “loved”

The game’s launch hasn’t gone as smoothly as hoped. While initial reactions were positive, the number of players and viewers on Twitch have dropped significantly, and many users have left negative reviews on Steam.

Grenier emphasized that the team’s priority is making a game people enjoy, not simply attracting a large player base.

He explained that the number of players wasn’t important – whether it was a few or many. The most crucial thing, he said, was that those who played the game truly enjoyed it.

After a lot of testing, the game became a 3v3 shooter with distinct stages: players first build defenses, then collect loot, and finally attack each other. A permanent 5v5 mode is also available now. This game is very different from Apex Legends, and the developers could only create something so unique by becoming independent from Respawn Entertainment.

It’s a bit of a double-edged sword, honestly. When Apex Legends does really well, it’s awesome, but it also means we’re kinda stuck focusing on just that one game. So, we’re always pushing ourselves to come up with new and interesting ideas in the shooter genre, trying to keep things fresh and exciting.

Dusty Welch, the CEO, feels being an independent studio gives them the freedom to pursue their vision for Highguard and make it popular with players worldwide.

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2026-02-03 14:49