Highguard developer deletes post after toxic gamer backlash

Last week, recently laid off Highguard developer Josh Sobel wrote about revealing the game at the Game Awards 2025 and watching loud parts of the internet dunk on the title through its January launch. He called out people he said were 'gleefully' trying to manifest the game's immediate downfall, and the reaction to that post was so harsh he deleted it and then removed his X account entirely.

In a post on X on February 12 Sobel wrote, 'I'm not saying our failure is purely the fault of gamer culture and that the game would have thrived without the negative discourse, but it absolutely played a role. All products are at the whims of the consumers, and the consumers put absurd amounts of effort into slandering Highguard.

And it worked.' The message sparked a fresh firestorm, with online gamers and social media figures attacking developers as out of touch and accusing them of deflecting blame.

highguard, josh sobel, game awards, deleted post, x account, gamer culture, gaming backlash, toxic gamers, social media, january launch