US EditionHighguard Devs Blame The Game Awards Slot and Bad Reveal Trailer for Backlash
Wildlight rushed a trailer for Highguard’s first reveal at The Game Awards, foregoing gameplay details and staying silent until its January 26 launch, aiming to let the game speak for itself.
- On Jan. 26, Wildlight Entertainment closed The Game Awards with a trailer for Highguard and released the game the same day on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
- A meeting with The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley changed plans when he offered Wildlight an honourable closing slot, prompting them to abandon their shadowdrop strategy late in development.
- Wildlight rushed an entertainment-focused trailer for millions, which provoked online backlash with 17,000 dislikes versus 1,800 likes, as Welch acknowledged.
- The studio maintained silence until players could try Highguard, sticking to its plan so the next communication would be the live game itself, with Wildlight Entertainment leadership inviting players as primary judges.
- As a self-publishing studio with limited marketing muscle, Wildlight Entertainment built a 100-person team with around 60 former Apex/Titanfall developers, facing multiplayer live-service market dynamics that challenge Highguard’s survival.
12 Articles
12 Articles
'I think, ultimately, we could have made a different trailer' — Wildlight Entertainment CEO wishes 'Highguard had been received better' amidst the game's negative review score on Steam
Wildlight Entertainment's CEO has admitted the studio could have marketed Highguard better following radio silence leading up to its launch.
'Highguard' Headlined The Game Awards Because Founder Geoff Keighley "Loved It", Devs Originally Wanted "To Drop Everything As A Surprise"
Though many assumed Highguard‘s position as The Game Awards’ closing announcement had been bought and paid for, its developers at Wildlight Entertainment have revealed that the honor was instead offered to them directly by event founder Geoff Keighley, who did so because he just genuinely “loved” the game. Una (TBA) summons his Forest Wisps in Highguard (2026), Wildlight Entertainment RELATED: Geoff Keighley’s The Game Awards Honored Amir Satvat…
Highguard's shadowdrop plans were upended by The Game Awards, studio CEO says
While The Game Awards is ostensibly an award show, it’s just as much a vehicle for trailers and game reveals. The 2025 show’s capstone? Highguard, a new free-to-play “raid shooter” from a studio founded by Titanfall and Apex Legends veterans. Its reveal certainly made a splash (for good and bad), but Highguard wasn’t supposed to be The 2025 Game Awards’ finale. In fact, it originally wasn’t supposed to be in the show at all.
Highguard Gets Ripped Apart by Steam User Reviews as CEO Takes Responsibility for "Poor" TGA Trailer
The free-to-play PvP 'raid shooter' Highguard was released yesterday on PC and consoles, as covered in our previous article. Right away, it reached a peak of around 97K concurrent players on Steam, though that's not so big considering that the game is free. Perhaps the poor reception when the game was unveiled at Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards 2025, as the final trailer of that show, played a part. In an interview with PC Gamer, Wildlight Ente…
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