Highguard Quietly Drops Titanfall and Apex Legends From Its Marketing

The problem with Highguard keeps getting worse, and it hasn't been a good story so far. It's only been a few days since the PvP raid shooter came out, but it's already having a hard time keeping players. Even though it started off strong, what was going strong has been losing steam at a frightening rate. At launch, Highguard allegedly had around 100,000 players at the same time. 

Just a few hours ago, the number of players had dropped to about 13,000. This shows that people are quickly losing interest. A big drop in sales so soon after the game came out is usually not a good sign, especially for a social game that depends on a lot of active players.

There has been a severe player count drop since the game's release.

Fewer players are a problem in and of themselves, but another small but noticeable change has caught the attention of both fans and people who follow the industry. It looks like the developers have taken down references to their work on Apex Legends and Titanfall from Highguard's public page and marketing materials.

Earlier accounts of Highguard made it clear that it was made by the same people who developed Apex Legends and Titanfall, which are still very popular with players. That language is no longer used; it has been replaced with a more neutral one.

These days, the game is just called a "PvP raid shooter" where players will "ride, fight, and raid as wardens—enigmatic gunslingers sent to fight for control of a mythical continent." It's interesting that there's no mention of those popular guns, especially since they were used as selling points in the past.

A change in strategy or public pressure?

Naturally, this quick change has led to a lot of guesswork. Someone might have told the developers they couldn't use Apex Legends or Titanfall in Highguard's marketing in the first place. Since both titles are closely linked to Electronic Arts, it's not a stretch to think that EA may have stepped in.

A different view is more about the image. Highguard is having trouble keeping its fans, so the people who made it may be trying to make the new game seem less like their previous hits. People still remember those old games with fondness, and linking them to a new game that isn't doing well could ruin that memory.

Many people think that the editor is involved with the second theory. 

It's not hard to think that EA would say that it has nothing to do with Highguard and ask that its IPs be taken out of any ads or store descriptions. No matter the reason, taking out those mentions makes it seem like Highguard has a tough fight ahead of it. Because the number of players is dropping so quickly and there have been sudden changes to how the game is marketed, the future of the game is still unclear. Right now, things aren't going so well.