Highguard Twitch Viewership Crashes 98% in Just Three Days After Launch

Three days. That's all Highguard needed to lose 98% of its Twitch audience.

The free-to-play raid shooter from Wildlight Entertainment launched on 26th January 2026 with considerable intrigue after closing The Game Awards 2025 in December. But the numbers tell a brutal story. According to SullyGnome data, peak concurrent viewership plummeted from 382,943 on launch day to just 7,071 by 29th January.

That's not a dip. That's a freefall.

The First Day Honeymoon Period

Launch day looked promising enough. Shroud, Ninja, Summit1G, TimTheTatman, and LIRIK all jumped in to test the waters. These are big names. The sort who bring audiences with them wherever they go.

Highguard peaked at nearly 383,000 concurrent viewers in those first 24 hours. Not bad for a game that faced significant scepticism before release. The community wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

But interest evaporated faster than anyone anticipated. Day two saw viewership crater to 81,308 peak concurrent viewers. By 28th January, that number had shrunk to 24,245. Then came 29th January with its four-figure peak of 7,071 viewers.

The pattern is unmistakable. Players tried it. They left. Streamers followed suit.

Big Names Moved On After Hours, Not Days

Here's the kicker. Of the top 10 Highguard streamers by peak viewership, only two have logged more than six hours total. Those same two were the only ones who bothered returning for multiple sessions.

Shroud and Summit1G gave the game genuine attention. Shroud praised certain gameplay mechanics whilst listing urgent problems needing fixes. His feedback was constructive. But even he moved on quickly.

The rest? One session and done.

Twitch Drops are currently active for Highguard, supposedly running until 9th February 2026. These typically drive viewership as players chase cosmetic rewards. Yet they've failed to maintain an audience here.

As of writing, Highguard sits below the original Call of Duty from 2003, Ratchet & Clank from 2002, and sleeping streams in the Twitch directory. Apex Legends, a game many Wildlight developers worked on over seven years ago, has more viewers.

The Game Awards Curse Strikes Again

Highguard's controversial Game Awards reveal set expectations it couldn't meet. When Geoff Keighley hyped a game from Titanfall and Apex Legends veterans, viewers expected something special. Something worthy of that coveted closing slot.

What they got was a generic-looking hero shooter in an oversaturated market.

The developers went radio silent after the announcement. No marketing. No gameplay deep dives. Just crickets until launch. Creative director Jason McCord later explained to PC Gamer that this silence was intentional, mirroring the Apex Legends shadow drop strategy from 2019.

The problem? Apex didn't need marketing because it was excellent. Highguard needed all the help it could get.

Wildlight CEO Dusty Welch admitted to PC Gamer that the team "probably made the wrong trailer" and should have focused on highlighting the unique gameplay loop rather than trying to entertain. He acknowledged the negative reception but maintains confidence in the game itself.

Too little, too late. First impressions matter.

Steam Reviews Paint a Grim Picture

The Twitch exodus mirrors player sentiment on Steam. Highguard launched with nearly 97,249 concurrent players according to SteamDB. Respectable for a free-to-play title many wrote off before launch.

But Steam reviews tell another tale. The game carries "Mostly Negative" ratings with only 32% of reviews recommending it. Common complaints include:

• Optimisation issues despite high-end hardware
• Kernel-level anti-cheat concerns
• 3v3 format feeling wrong for map sizes
• Uninspired weapon design
• Audio problems

Players gave it a shot. The free-to-play model ensures that. But they didn't stick around. Converting trials into engaged players is where Highguard fails spectacularly.

Can Wildlight Turn This Around?

Lead designer Mohammad Alavi told PC Gamer that Highguard doesn't need massive player counts to succeed. The six-player match format means finding games isn't difficult. He hopes for "a core group of fans that love us" to allow organic growth.

That's optimistic. Perhaps delusional.

Wildlight has mapped out plans for year one including new Vanguards and Ranked Mode. Content drops are scheduled regularly. Whether any of it recaptures attention remains doubtful.

The hero shooter market is brutal. Players have options. Overwatch 2, Valorant, Apex Legends, and others compete for the same audience. Highguard needs a compelling reason for players to choose it over established alternatives.

So far, it hasn't provided one.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Highguard started with promise and ended with disappointment. A 98% viewership drop in three days tells you everything about player retention. Streamers tried it. They didn't return. Viewers followed the exodus.

The Game Awards slot was meant to be Highguard's launchpad. Instead, it became an albatross. Expectations were set too high for a game that needed to prove itself first.

Wildlight has a year-one roadmap ready. But will anyone be around to experience it? Current trends suggest the answer is no.

Free-to-play games live or die by their communities. Right now, Highguard's community is haemorrhaging players faster than the developers can implement fixes. Whether they can stem the bleeding before it's too late remains the million-dollar question.

Three days shouldn't determine a game's fate. But in live service, three days can be everything.