Highguard’s Surprise Launch Plans Disrupted by The Game Awards, According to CEO

While The Game Awards is primarily known for handing out accolades, it also serves as a major platform for trailers and game announcements. The highlight of the 2025 event? Highguard, a new free-to-play “raid shooter” from a team of veterans behind Titanfall and Apex Legends. Its reveal certainly stirred up a mix of reactions, but Highguard wasn’t initially meant to be the grand finale of the show. In fact, it wasn’t even slated to appear at all.

Developer Wildlight had originally planned to surprise-launch its debut live-service shooter on January 26. “Our goal was always to drop it unexpectedly, similar to Apex,” said Wildlight founder and CEO Dusty Welch during a recent press event for Highguard. However, an enticing offer from Keighley changed their course.

Welch described Keighley as “a friend of the studio,” noting their connection dates back to before the first Titanfall, with Keighley even authoring a behind-the-scenes look at Respawn Entertainment. (Keighley did not respond to requests for comment regarding this story.)

Throughout Highguard’s development, Keighley visited the studio multiple times and expressed his enthusiasm for the game. “He suggested we do something unique and perhaps a bit risky in hindsight,” Welch explained, “which was to promote an indie free-to-play game and highlight the indie scene.”

Debuting at The Game Awards marked a significant shift from their original shadowdrop plans, but Welch felt it would be unwise for Wildlight to pass up the opportunity for exposure that the event offered. “We would be foolish to turn down The Game Awards and the visibility that comes with it,” he stated.

In a hurry, Wildlight put together a trailer that aimed to entertain, though Welch admitted, “Perhaps we didn’t succeed at that. We needed a trailer that could effectively showcase the gameplay loop, which is challenging in that environment.”

Despite the mixed reception to the trailer, which led many to speculate whether Highguard would become the next live-service flop, Wildlight stands by their decision to accept Keighley’s offer. “We’ve taken the feedback to heart, but this team is seasoned and resilient,” Welch remarked. “So we kept our heads down, took some hits, and learned from the experience.”

Wildlight always believed that Highguard would ultimately speak for itself, and now that it’s available for free on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, it has the chance to do just that. “At the end of the day, we just want to release the game and let players form their own opinions.”