Originally planned as a Shadow Drop, Highguard was already torn apart on the internet before its release on January 26, 2026. Reviews that were initially devastating are slowly recovering. Larian chief Swen Vincke does not approve of the critics’ behavior, rushes to help – and now admits that he might have been a bit too harsh. There are reasons for that.
What’s going on with Highguard?
- Before release, very little was known about Highguard; the advertising was as present as a popular German festival beer. The game by former Apex Legends developers was supposed to be a hero shooter, but much more was not known.
- Highguard was announced as the “One Last Thing” at the 2025 Game Awards, a spot where many gamers expect an absolute highlight. The shooter has apparently not lived up to these expectations.
- On social media, Highguard was torn apart, there was review bombing and an enormously bad atmosphere. Swen Vincke, the head of Larian, defends Highguard and, in turn, criticizes the critics: loud complaining helps no one. Now Vincke explains himself again.
This is what the Larian chief says now: In a new post on X, Vincke writes that he may have exaggerated a bit with his tweets. He needs to learn to “weigh his words better”, he only wanted to provide constructive criticism, but expressed himself poorly.
With a new attempt, he wants to do better. Criticism is not the problem after all, but it should not be “painful”. This not only leads to a distancing between developers and gamers but directly affects the people behind the games:
Personally, I got my first threats of violence in 2009, all because I was trying to make something fun and failed in that person’s opinion. There’s been a long list of things thrown at me since. It kind of sucks, especially given that I got into making games because I enjoy seeing people have fun with what I worked on. It took me quite some time to learn how to deal with that. These days, I still read the hurtful comments, but I focus mainly on the constructive opinions.
Swen Vincke on X
Such threats, according to Vincke, lead developers to develop a “callus on the soul”. A little of that is fine, but excessive amounts dull one’s response to any criticism.
Disappointment is understandable, especially given the development of the gaming industry with increasing monetization and the general state of the industry, which Vincke has criticized before. However, this disappointment should not be projected onto developers who are truly pouring their hearts and souls into their games.
Constructive criticism contributed to the success of Baldur’s Gate 3
Vincke explains that constructive criticism was ultimately responsible for Baldur’s Gate 3 becoming the massive success it is known as today. The role-playing game is considered an absolute milestone in gaming.
Criticism is therefore important, and Vincke has great respect for game critics. In his team are some of them, whom he always asks for their opinions when he has been working too long on something and loses sight of the quality:
Often they will tell me that what I made was shit, but they’ll phrase it such that it helps me understand why it was shit. That’s invaluable.
The same goes for some public reviews of our games. A few were genuinely formative and had a real impact because they pointed out things we were overlooking.
Swen Vincke on X
Vincke emphasizes once again that he greatly appreciates criticism and that his previous comment was only related to how exactly that criticism is packaged.
Larian, meanwhile, is working on a new project, Divinity. The role-playing game is supposed to be the largest game the studio has made so far, even larger than Baldur’s Gate 3. There isn’t too much information yet about the upcoming successor to Divinity: Original Sin 2, but what we know can be found here: Divinity: Release, trailer and gameplay – What we know about the new game from the creators of Baldur’s Gate 3
