The brand new free-to-play PvP FPS Highguard has been the speak of social media for a number of weeks now, forward of its launch immediately, however for all of the fallacious causes.
After showing at The Recreation Awards because the present’s “one very last thing” earlier than the ultimate award, the cinematic trailer displayed by Wildlight Leisure for its debut title was not fairly a success with gamers, to place it evenly. And so at an early entry hands-on occasion final week in Los Angeles, I requested the studio’s high brass about the way it all went down.
Wildlight’s CEO and co-founder Dusty Welch defined to me that Highguard was initially meant to be a shadow-dropped title, just like Apex Legends, which the majority of the studio labored on beforehand. However in 2025, one thing modified.
With out the backing of a writer resembling EA like Apex had, Welch says the cash behind the sport was going straight into the event, and never advertising and marketing. And sooner or later within the mid-last 12 months, The Recreation Awards’ Geoff Keighley dropped by Wildlight to play Highguard as one of many first individuals from exterior the studio to take action, and he ended up loving it. He liked it a lot that Keighley instructed them he needed to “do one thing actually particular” and “totally different” to focus on the free-to-play shooter at TGA 2025.
Welch mentioned that the TGA debut “wasn’t our technique, however being unbiased, it felt actually like an honor to be part of the Recreation Awards present and be up there with all the massive boys” like EA and Activision the place lots of Wildlight’s devs’ careers beforehand took them.
“We must always in all probability take [the TGA opportunity], and who wouldn’t soar at that probability?” Welch mentioned. “So, we deviated, and we rapidly made a trailer. And in the end, that trailer was not well-received. That’s on us. We made a trailer that entertained for the hundred million viewers world wide watching at dwelling. We have now a extremely distinctive recreation, the gameplay loop, which might be actually arduous to do in a trailer, and we didn’t try this within the trailer, and we shouldn’t have completed that. So, in hindsight, that was the fallacious trailer to do.”
Highguard is described as a three-vs-three “raid shooter” the place groups assault and defend bases with destructible partitions like in Rust or Fortnite, loot gear across the map like a battle royale, and win by destroying the enemy base like in a MOBA. It’s distinctive and it’s enjoyable, and the TGA trailer didn’t actually convey any of this in any significant approach.
Apart from the trailer under no circumstances being consultant of the title’s distinctive gameplay loop and really feel (after enjoying for a number of hours on the occasion, I concur wholeheartedly), Welch mentioned that Highguard’s placement because the “one very last thing” reveal throughout the awards present was not their alternative. On condition that a variety of the vitriol the sport has obtained since then has been as a result of gamers have been anticipating one thing like Half-Life 3 and noticed a free-to-play hero shooter feels comparatively unfair, however “it’s what it’s,” Welch mentioned, including that “we selected and we agreed to [the TGA debut trailer], so we’ll personal that.”
“The narrative will not be what we needed, definitely we’re disenchanted within the response, however we didn’t put our heads within the sand,” Welch mentioned. “We listened. We shut up, and we listened. We knew that the subsequent factor that we did needed to be proper, and the one factor that’s proper is palms on sticks. ‘Let’s simply maintain quiet, we all know it’s gonna be painful, however there’s classes to be discovered right here. We will hearken to an viewers speak and after we launch, they’ll kind their very own opinions.’ And in order that’s all we ask.”
So, why the whole silence on social media since then? Welch instructed me the plan “for years” was to shadow drop in January 2026 with a media occasion beforehand, and that plan didn’t change regardless of the unfavorable dialogue that’s been ongoing since TGA.
“The factor that grew to become very clear is that folks needed to know extra in regards to the recreation, and our trailer didn’t educate individuals prefer it ought to have.” Wildlight studio head and co-founder, and Highguard recreation director Chad Grenier mentioned. “So we’ve really been spending the final 5 weeks now ensuring that after we come out [on Jan. 26] that there’s one thing for gamers to, , it’s all about studying the sport. So, our focus has modified from making a trailer that’s simply motion pictures to educating gamers and letting them get their palms on the sport as a result of we really feel like as soon as individuals can play, they’ll perceive our recreation really is exclusive and revolutionary in a variety of methods, and really enjoyable. So I simply hope individuals give us an opportunity and make their choices based mostly on enjoying the sport, not what they noticed [at The Game Awards].”
And so, for the reason that debut, the crew has been engaged on round three dozen explanatory movies showcasing and detailing the sport’s gameplay loop, characters, weapons, map, and extra. These movies, together with a gameplay deep dive and extra, are all out now alongside the sport’s launch.
Ultimately, like Apex earlier than it, Highguard’s launch interval is all about letting the gameplay communicate for itself when everybody performs it. The hope for Highguard is that, now that it’s out within the wild, gamers will get on the sport and check out it out, play it for what it’s, after which it should develop from there based mostly on the deserves of how enjoyable the sport is.
And judging from what I and others skilled in LA, I feel it’s obtained an awesome probability to be a hit. Wildlight thinks so, too, with a 12 months of post-launch content material already scheduled, and extra in growth. New Episodes (seasons) and battle passes priced at round $9 will drop each two months, with updates scheduled no less than each month. These passes may even by no means expire and will be purchased retroactively for those who missed out. In-game cosmetics, with nothing priced greater than $20 at launch, will complement the sport within the long-run. And if gamers benefit from the recreation like Wildlight thinks they are going to, it ought to be a future, certainly.
“It’s free-to-play, you possibly can kind your personal opinion,” Welch mentioned. “In the event you don’t prefer it, it’s not for you, that’s okay. However we expect it’s a extremely good recreation. The crew’s resilient. We’re actually pleased with what we’ve completed.”
I hope that Highguard can come again from the negativity surrounding the sport’s debut, and I feel that it’ll. Welch and Grenier are hopeful, too, that the identical ardour that gave delivery to the sometimes-angry dialogue across the TGA trailer and silence afterwards will assist form the sport’s future for the higher.
“We heard you,” Grenier mentioned of the salty suggestions so far. “You wanna know extra in regards to the recreation, right here it’s, give it a shot. We’ve obtained a confirmed monitor file of constructing nice video games. It’s not by luck. It’s as a result of we put a variety of effort and fervour, and we’ve obtained years and years of expertise doing this. We’ve obtained an awesome recreation. It’s revolutionary, it’s recent, and we’re right here now to pay attention and be part of our group. We’ve been silent and specializing in the sport launch, however we’re right here now, and we welcome you in.”
“We love video games, too,” Welch mentioned to potential gamers. “We really feel you, we hear you, we’re with you. Hopefully we’ve made one thing that you just’re gonna love. However immediately begins the suggestions the place we have interaction with you, so give us your suggestions. Even for those who don’t like it, allow us to hear it. We need to have interaction with you. We recognize that you just had sufficient ardour that you just needed to remark about one thing that we put a variety of ardour and love in. We didn’t put our greatest foot ahead, nevertheless it’s right here for you now.”
Highguard is accessible immediately, free-to-play, on PC, PS5, and Xbox Collection X|S.
For extra on Highguard, take a look at Destructoid’s protection right here:
Wildlight Leisure supplied journey and lodging for the hands-on gameplay occasion in Los Angeles.
