One theory circulating online about the newly launched free-to-play fantasy shooter Highguard is that Geoff Keighley--the host and organizer of The Game Awards where the game was first revealed--has some kind of personal financial stake in the game or its developer.
Keighley was asked straight-up recently if this was the case, and he replied, "lol absolutely not."
It's been reported from multiple sources that Highguard studio Wildlight did not have to pay a penny to show the game at The Game Awards in December 2025. That's notable because of how expensive normal slots are at The Game Awards. What's more, Highguard was the final reveal of The Game Awards. These elements contributed to some people believing--based on no real evidence--that Keighley had some personal stake in the game and was promoting it heavily because of that.
After The Game Awards, developer Wildlight went dark and didn't resurface in a significant way until Highguard's launch day on January 26. Then, interviews with the studio flooded the internet, including one in which CEO Dusty Welch said the trailer shown at The Game Awards didn't do a good enough job of explaining what Highguard was all about. "We could have made something that did a better job of highlighting the unique loop of the game. So that's on us. We take that, but the team is resilient," Welch told PC Gamer.
Welch also talked about Wildlight's relationship with Keighley, saying he is a "friend of the studio" and played the game prior to launch. "He loved it," Welch said.
"So when he said, 'Look, I'd love to do something different and put an indie studio and a free-to-play game up here and put it in the show,' I mean, as an indie who was unknown by choice, who wouldn't jump at the chance to do that? Here's the biggest platform [in gaming], right?" Welch said.
Wildlight told GameSpot that Highguard was planned to be a shadowdrop like Apex Legends--which some of the Highguard developers worked on previously--but plans changed after Keighley pitched the team on the idea of a showing at The Game Awards.
"Look, it didn't go as well as we thought obviously, and I guess part of that's the spot that it was put in and part of that's on us, which we own," Welch said. "Perhaps we made a spot that was more about entertaining, and then less about the loop. And so that's on us. We own that."
Two days before Highguard's release, Keighley stirred things up online by posting a Jurassic Park GIF about the John Hammond line, "In 48 hours, I'll be accepting your apologies." In the movie, Hammond says this after people like Dr. Ian Malcolm and others doubted Hammond's vision for the park filled with killer dinosaurs. In essence, Keighley was reacting to the people doubting Highguard, but his post was mocked because people quickly pointed out how things ended very badly in Jurassic Park, with the suggestion that something similar could happen with Highguard.
Plenty of people roasted Keighley for his comments, and others defended him. One of his highest-profile defenders was Mark Rein, the vice president and co-founder of Fortnite and Unreal Engine developer Epic Games. He said it's "massively unwarranted and completely unfair" to hate on Keighley for being so optimistic and enthusiastic about Highguard.
"He's helped create massively wide marketing channels for the video game industry. He did a grand and unselfish favor to help a game for which he saw huge potential," Rein said. "He is an agent of positivity for our entire industry--which is much needed."
As for the game itself, Rein said people should give Wildlight time to cook. "It costs nothing to come back and try the game again after a few updates. Potential doesn't die in the first week of any ongoing game's release unless mean spirited people succeed in shaming everyone else to avoid it," he said.
"We should be hopeful toward new games, not hurtful. If your complaint is about something the developer can fix then give them the benefit of the doubt they could fix it and come back try it again if they do."
Highguard peaked at more than 97,000 concurrent users on Steam on launch day, and we don't know how the game is performing on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Whatever the case, the studio has said it's not overly concerned with reaching massive player numbers.
Welch has told fans that they can expect Highguard to stick around for a while. "We're not going anywhere," he said. This is a concern held by many given that live-service games spin up and shut down fairly regularly in the ultra-competitive free-to-play multiplayer environment.
Wildlight has also announced a year-one roadmap for Highguard, which includes new maps, characters, weapons, and mounts to come on a semi-regular basis throughout the year.
Like other free games, Highguard is supported by microtransactions. However, the game has no loot boxes or ads.
Source
Keighley was asked straight-up recently if this was the case, and he replied, "lol absolutely not."
It's been reported from multiple sources that Highguard studio Wildlight did not have to pay a penny to show the game at The Game Awards in December 2025. That's notable because of how expensive normal slots are at The Game Awards. What's more, Highguard was the final reveal of The Game Awards. These elements contributed to some people believing--based on no real evidence--that Keighley had some personal stake in the game and was promoting it heavily because of that.
What happened after The Game Awards
After The Game Awards, developer Wildlight went dark and didn't resurface in a significant way until Highguard's launch day on January 26. Then, interviews with the studio flooded the internet, including one in which CEO Dusty Welch said the trailer shown at The Game Awards didn't do a good enough job of explaining what Highguard was all about. "We could have made something that did a better job of highlighting the unique loop of the game. So that's on us. We take that, but the team is resilient," Welch told PC Gamer.
Welch also talked about Wildlight's relationship with Keighley, saying he is a "friend of the studio" and played the game prior to launch. "He loved it," Welch said.
"So when he said, 'Look, I'd love to do something different and put an indie studio and a free-to-play game up here and put it in the show,' I mean, as an indie who was unknown by choice, who wouldn't jump at the chance to do that? Here's the biggest platform [in gaming], right?" Welch said.
Wildlight told GameSpot that Highguard was planned to be a shadowdrop like Apex Legends--which some of the Highguard developers worked on previously--but plans changed after Keighley pitched the team on the idea of a showing at The Game Awards.
"Look, it didn't go as well as we thought obviously, and I guess part of that's the spot that it was put in and part of that's on us, which we own," Welch said. "Perhaps we made a spot that was more about entertaining, and then less about the loop. And so that's on us. We own that."
Epic boss defends Keighley
Two days before Highguard's release, Keighley stirred things up online by posting a Jurassic Park GIF about the John Hammond line, "In 48 hours, I'll be accepting your apologies." In the movie, Hammond says this after people like Dr. Ian Malcolm and others doubted Hammond's vision for the park filled with killer dinosaurs. In essence, Keighley was reacting to the people doubting Highguard, but his post was mocked because people quickly pointed out how things ended very badly in Jurassic Park, with the suggestion that something similar could happen with Highguard.
Plenty of people roasted Keighley for his comments, and others defended him. One of his highest-profile defenders was Mark Rein, the vice president and co-founder of Fortnite and Unreal Engine developer Epic Games. He said it's "massively unwarranted and completely unfair" to hate on Keighley for being so optimistic and enthusiastic about Highguard.
"He's helped create massively wide marketing channels for the video game industry. He did a grand and unselfish favor to help a game for which he saw huge potential," Rein said. "He is an agent of positivity for our entire industry--which is much needed."
As for the game itself, Rein said people should give Wildlight time to cook. "It costs nothing to come back and try the game again after a few updates. Potential doesn't die in the first week of any ongoing game's release unless mean spirited people succeed in shaming everyone else to avoid it," he said.
"We should be hopeful toward new games, not hurtful. If your complaint is about something the developer can fix then give them the benefit of the doubt they could fix it and come back try it again if they do."
Highguard's results so far, and what's coming next
Highguard peaked at more than 97,000 concurrent users on Steam on launch day, and we don't know how the game is performing on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Whatever the case, the studio has said it's not overly concerned with reaching massive player numbers.
Welch has told fans that they can expect Highguard to stick around for a while. "We're not going anywhere," he said. This is a concern held by many given that live-service games spin up and shut down fairly regularly in the ultra-competitive free-to-play multiplayer environment.
Wildlight has also announced a year-one roadmap for Highguard, which includes new maps, characters, weapons, and mounts to come on a semi-regular basis throughout the year.
Like other free games, Highguard is supported by microtransactions. However, the game has no loot boxes or ads.
Source