The final World Premiere at the Game Awards last night wasn’t the long-awaited return of a beloved franchise or a major studio’s next project; it was a new shooter called Highguard from Wildlight Entertainment. The sci-fi/fantasy raid shooter is led by folks who worked at Respawn on Titanfall and Apex Legends, so there’s some talent behind it. However, the reaction has been somewhat polarizing, and for reasons that aren’t really even Highguard’s fault.
In a vacuum, Highguard looks pretty solid. It has Titanfall’s signature movement abilities, high-octane action, and a mix of fantasy and modern-day aesthetics that lead to fun moments like using a rifle on horseback and then casting elemental spells and scorching enemies alive. It’s got a lot going on, but it also shoulders the burden of looking kind of generic. Even its name is remarkably indistinct. If you showed me footage of Highguard and told me it was an ad for mobile slop, I would probably believe it.
Wildlight has apparently been developing Highguard in secret for years, which is why this announcement comes just weeks before it’s set to launch on January 26. In the time since its development began, the hero shooter/live-service market has become fraught, to say the least. People have a harder time getting excited for a game that threatens to occupy hours of their lives or one that could go the way of Concord and get shut down almost immediately. Plus, the hero shooter genre feels pretty well worn at this point, and it’s impossible to make a new one without getting compared to standouts like Overwatch. Though admittedly, Highguard’s similarities are nowhere near as on the nose as those in something like Marvel Rivals.
“I’ve waited my entire life to tell you about this F2P generic Hero Shooter made in secrecy by a few devs that use to work at that iconic game studio you use to like. It’s the honor of a life time! This will blow your mind, the power of gaming! Here’s Magic Sherbang!” pic.twitter.com/GH9PP28gk7
— Michael (@LegacyKillaHD) December 12, 2025
“-and for our last world premiere, straight Shit from an Ass!” pic.twitter.com/N38ihOmZW0
— aaron🌌💭 (@musclesap) December 12, 2025
oh i get it, it’s “high” like “over” and “guard” like “watch”
— skittybitty (@skittybitty_yt) December 12, 2025
final reveal of the show is a “servers shut down in 6 months” fps pic.twitter.com/pTkGsRuro9
— balta 🦕 (@BGarcN2) December 12, 2025
please do us a favor and file for chapter 11 in advance https://t.co/WbdNky4YW2
— Utter Dogshit Pavlovian Boner (@Comrade_Waluigi) December 12, 2025
Not even trying to hate but that was the worst final reveal of all time
— Colin (@IntroSpecktive) December 12, 2025
How I felt watching the Highguard reveal pic.twitter.com/EdLwYsPC8L
— Tyrone Powers 🇺🇸⭐️ (@SomethingUNATCO) December 12, 2025
We’ll see how Highguard pans out when it launches next month, but it’s a tough time to be releasing a live-service hero shooter when it feels like the public is tired of them. There’s only so much time in the week for a big time-suck of a multiplayer game, and a lot of people have comfortably sunk into their favorite and aren’t looking for another. The Game Awards may have put it in an even tougher spot by making it the final reveal of the night. But hey, at least people are talking about it?
