Highguard shut down its servers back on March 12, 2026. We even made some headlines about that. The game is done and over, but something good came out of it recently. Sony has made refunds to players who got the game on the PlayStation 5.
What happened?
You may be wondering how the players get refunded when Highguard was free to play. The answer is that the game did have some items that were bought with real money. It seems it is tied to some of Sony’s mandated policies. That’s a good thing regardless, because at least people will get their money back. No news on whether Xbox or PC players got some form of refunds. Naturally, those who didn’t buy anything won’t be getting any form of refund.
Why did the game fail?
There are a lot of reasons why the game possibly failed. We can’t pinpoint a direct one, but a couple of these reasons should be good enough.
Market saturation of the genre
There are far too many arena/hero shooters out there that are free and just as good, if not better. The market has a lot of these, such as Overwatch, Marvel Rivals, Valorant, and even the struggling Paladins can fit into the mold. With that many games to compete with, Highguard struggled to have a pull to get player numbers in.
Poor leadership and decision-making
Highguard suffered from ineffective leadership that struggled to make timely and informed decisions. Leaders either hesitated during critical moments or made choices that did not align with the organization’s capabilities.
This created mistrust within the ranks and reduced confidence in leadership, ultimately contributing to internal instability. A good example of this is that after the trailer announcement, they just went radio silent until the game dropped. No promotions or added marketing.
Resource Mismanagement
Inefficient use of resources also played a key role in Highguard’s failure. Time, manpower, and materials were often wasted on poorly planned initiatives or misallocated priorities. This resulted in shortages where they were needed most and prevented the organization from operating at full potential.
It’s also worth noting that Tencent apparently backed this game up. Then, upon the crucial moments leading up to the release of the game, Tencent just left them hanging. They lacked the necessary funds to continue, and with no new players coming in, the game was dead due to the lack of money being injected into the business.
The 2025 Game Awards debacle
A lot of people say that this game was hyped up during the 2025 Game Awards as the last trailer to close the show. A lot of people say that the game didn’t deserve the last spot on the show. It was even worse when they found out that Highguard was given the spot for free. Companies pay large amounts of money to advertise their game trailers. For Highguard to get it for free, it’s just a slap in the face, but it is what it is.
