Highguard, an independent video game,  had the privilege to make its grand reveal as the final announcement of The Game Awards 2025. Yet, negative audience reactions quickly overshadowed the launch, leading to the game shutting down on March 12.

Released on Jan. 26, 2026, Highguard’s chances at success were at odds with the enthusiasm Geoff Keighley, the host and founder of The Game Awards, displayed during the ceremony. “I’ve played it, and after you see this trailer, I think you’re gonna want to as well. Welcome… to Highguard.” said Keighley.

Being an independent studio and operating in complete secrecy for years of Highguard’s development, Wildlight Entertainment sought a similar launch strategy to Apex Legends with one exception. Instead of shadow dropping (releasing without prior notice to the public), they decided to agree with Keighley and put it into the final showing prior to the game’s launch.

However, they did not expect the audience’s overwhelmingly negative response. Although many well received reveals such as returning IPs in projects like Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic or Larian Studios’ Divinity made their way into the awards show, the viewers did not appreciate reserving the final showing to a multiplayer hero-shooter – a genre widely seen as overpopulated – instead of one of the previously mentioned titles.

Is Highguard inherently a bad game, or its disappointing player count happened due to contrary reasons? Exploring trends in video game purchases could lead to a better understanding, especially in Pleasant Valley High School.

PV senior Zachary Bauer shares his insight on decisions of video game purchases. “I usually have to hear things about a game before I buy it. This comes in a few different forms.” he said. “Sometimes my friends want to play a game with me, other times I hear good things about it online or from other people.”

Bauer’s comment forms an idea that people need to gain outside information before choosing which game to buy. But the reason for the purchasing of video games in general instead of other forms of media has to do with their unique qualities.

“With other forms of entertainment, you don’t have freedom to explore and to do what you want, but video games give that ability and that sense of exploration,” added Bauer. “Other forms of entertainment work for a while but eventually I start thinking about the things that stress me out. With video games, I can fully distract myself and not think about my problems for long periods of time.”

The second thing Bauer mentioned is longer periods of time. Video games take up more time than other forms of entertainment do because of their mechanical side, and this could lead to the value being higher in terms of sales. This is proven by the fact that video games generally cost more than the consumption of other forms of entertainment such as movies. A video game can cost upwards of 70 dollars, which is a lot higher than a 10 dollar movie ticket.

PV junior Ganesh Sai Maridu speaks on the cost of video games being a huge factor in consumption. “Media coverage affects my video game purchases a lot because games cost a lot of money, so I want to know if they are worth buying,” said Sai Maridu.

He also talks about other forms of entertainment. “Reviews help me avoid wasting money on a bad game. This is different from movies or music because many movies are free with streaming, so I don’t worry as much before watching.”

Sai Maridu’s words echo the real concern video game players have when choosing to spend so much money on one product. To counteract this risk, many like Sai Maridu rely on reviews and media coverage to take a better look at their product before buying.

Highguard’s launch didn’t fail as badly as one multiplayer game that was shut down only two weeks after its release: Concord. This game was priced at $40 when it launched on August 23, 2024, making it a considerable investment for a multiplayer game. Highguard contrastingly launched as a free-to-play title and pulled in 97,249 players on steam.

Being cautious about purchases is valid in this saturated market, but there may be some concerns regarding media shaping public opinion. PV Calculus and Computer Science educator Jason Landa shares his thoughts.

“I don’t go to social media to see reviews or ads for things, in fact I’m usually skeptical of the reviews on there, because I feel that social media ‘influencers’ literally ruined the earth. They do exaggerated things to get views while they ‘review’ things,” he said. “…if I’m going to check out new video games, I’ll go to a source that I’ve trusted for years, like IGN, or I base it off of a suggestion from a friend or student, and then go look it up directly.”

Conspicuously, Landa dislikes the influence that social media has had on all citizens. Because of his concerns, picking trusted sources like IGN seems like a better option for aid in video game selection. Landa, however, agrees to being influenced by the media and believes everyone is affected by it one way or another, “I still see commercials on tv or a video that I’m streaming, and sometimes that will catch my eye,” he said.

He also speaks about a certain group being more prone to this influence. “I think the younger generations rely on influencers and social media ads/videos more than older generations,” he said. “Looking at my own children, they have unfounded opinions about certain products that they have never used themselves, but they’ve seen ‘personalities’ use, such as Linus from LTT that my son takes his word on everything, or my daughter takes her ‘skin care’ suggestions from some girl on youtube.”

This statement leads to a deeper look into younger demographics in the market. A 2025 Pew Research Center study reveals that young adults consume much more social media than adults, and also see it as a source of news; often trusting it as much as national news organizations.

Social media—or media in general—widely influences the youth, and more findings show how much this group influences the industry.

According to a June 2025 released annual report by the ESA (Entertainment Software Association), out of all players, 78% believe that video games can introduce them to new friends and relationships. The largest group, 89% of Generation Z feels this is the case, and 60% of boomers and the Silent Generation also agree.

Additionally, 79% of Gen. Alpha and Gen. Z  play video games with friends and use it as a means to socialize. Data from hugely popular games shows that the success of multiplayer games may come with participation of these younger generations. Fifty-six percent of players from Roblox are between the ages of nine to 16, and 62.7% of Fortnite players are between the ages of 18 to 24.

The clause that Highguard was not as well received because of media outlets and influencers giving a bad reputation of the game to a younger demographic is plausible after insight from multiple sources has been given at hand.

The media is rapidly changing the world, and many people have their decisions made through its involvement in their lives. Although it’s a culmination of millions of perspectives, our own voices should stay our own.

In recent times, artificial intelligence has taken an enormous toll on society. Jobs are being overtaken, critical thinking is on a decline, and water is being drained at a massive rate.

A core building block of artificial intelligence is machine learning: analyzing data and patterns to make informed decisions, which is something we all do. What sets artificial intelligence apart from us humans is our individuality. The ability to have different perspectives, feelings, emotions, experiences, and to use that intelligence to explore, research, engineer, innovate, and create.

Programming our minds to constantly rely on influencers and media might have shortened this gap. However, the course that this world takes should not be decided by an AI, but through our diversity which, if we decide to, makes for a powerful tool towards bringing unity in the future.