The developers behind the new free-to-play fantasy shooter Highguard have opened up about the negative reception to their game's reveal, attributing much of the backlash to their placement at The Game Awards and the trailer they created for the event.
The Controversial Reveal
When The Game Awards 2025 concluded, it wasn't with the expected fanfare for Control: Resonant, Tomb Raider, or Divinity. Instead, the closing slot went to Highguard, a new title from Wildlight Entertainment – a studio founded by veterans of Apex Legends and Titanfall. Despite the team's impressive credentials, this positioning proved problematic.
At the time of writing, the debut trailer has accumulated approximately 17,000 dislikes on YouTube compared to just 1,800 likes. While YouTube metrics don't necessarily dictate a game's fate, the online response was overwhelmingly negative, with many drawing unfavourable comparisons to Concord, which was shut down after just two weeks of operation.
The Original Shadow Drop Plan
Interestingly, Highguard could have avoided this backlash entirely if the developers had stuck to their original release strategy. The live service shooter was initially planned to launch on January 26, 2026 as a surprise shadow drop – much like Apex Legends did in 2019.
Wildlight Entertainment co-founder and CEO Dusty Welch explained to GameCentral: "When Chad [Grenier] and I started the company, we didn't know what we were going to make – we knew we were going to make a shooter and everything else – but the plan was always, let's do a shadow drop like we did with Apex Legends."
Welch emphasised their independent status, noting: "We are independent with Chad and I leading the company, there's no big publisher sitting there with a pile of cash, so you have to be really strategic with your funds." Most resources went into development and hiring, with about 60 of their 100 team members being former Apex Legends developers.
The Game Awards Intervention
The change in strategy came after a meeting with The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley. Welch recalled: "Pretty far into 2025, Geoff [Keighley] came in, and we've known Geoff for quite some time. He came into the studio, played the game, and he was super impressed."
Keighley proposed featuring the game prominently in the awards show, wanting to do something "unique and maybe a little bit risky" by showcasing an indie studio with an unannounced multiplayer PvP game in such a significant slot. For the unknown studio, this seemed like an honour and a major opportunity.
Recognising the Missteps
In retrospect, Welch acknowledges that both the trailer and its placement worked against them. "We put the trailer together pretty quickly, and ultimately at maybe the wrong slot [in the show]," he admitted. "Combined with... we made a trailer to entertain millions of viewers at home, and not to explain what the core loop was. So that's on us, we own that. I guess we should have made a different trailer."
Despite the disappointing reception, the team didn't alter their launch plans. Welch stated: "The reception was, as you know, not what you would hope it would be for a new studio. So we took it to heart, we stayed quiet which was always the plan. This week was always planned to be the event you're sitting here at today, and next week was always planned to be the launch, so we stayed quiet and true to our plan."
Learning from Feedback
The developers actively engaged with the criticism rather than ignoring it. "We listened, we took to heart what fans, players, and people were saying online," Welch explained. "We didn't put our heads in the sand, we listened to all that stuff. And we knew, the next thing we did, the next thing we said, it'd better be the game."
He expressed confidence in both the team and their creation: "We believe in our team, we believe in ourselves. We really love the game that we've made, and so let's just let players learn that on their own by putting it into their hands. So that's what we've chosen to do."
Resilience and Moving Forward
Welch praised the team's resilience, noting: "The team, they're experienced, they're big boys and girls, they're extremely resilient. We would have loved a different reception, but if anything, it's probably made us better, more introspective, and we are ready to finally engage with our community. It's nice to be able to finally talk."
When asked whether a shadow drop might have yielded better results, Welch acknowledged the challenges of being a smaller studio without major publisher backing. "It probably would take longer, right?" he responded. "We're not Respawn. You don't have EA behind you, so you wouldn't have all that might and muscle and marketing power. We still have a really incredible game, it would just go out a little bit quieter."
Highguard is now available to play for free across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms, giving players the opportunity to form their own opinions about the controversial shooter.
