Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards wrapped up on December 11, 2025, with a strange "one more thing" announcement: Highguard, the free-to-play PvP raid shooter that launches in just a few days. It has been six weeks since then, though, and developer Wildlight Entertainment went radio silent ... until now. The studio finally posted on social media on January 23, revealing that a livestream will fully detail the game on January 26, the same day Highguard arrives on consoles and PC.
As the studio announced on X, the launch showcase will go live on Monday, January 26, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. During the livestream, Wildlight Entertainment will share "an in-depth look at Highguard" with a full gameplay deep dive, a look at year-one plans, and more. You can catch the broadcast on Highguard's YouTube channel.
And ... that's it, for now. Wildlight Entertainment hasn't said anything else and hasn't responded to any replies to its X post as of this writing, so we'll all have to wait until January 26 to hear more about this bizarre TGA closer. Again, in case you weren't paying attention, that's the same day that Highguard comes out. Strange marketing.
That's exactly what makes this whole situation so fascinating. There have been reports about how much it costs to show at The Game Awards, with longer trailers reportedly running a team's wallet some $1 million. It's also been reported that Keighley didn't charge Wildlight Entertainment a fee for the final slot, instead offering that segment to the team because he really liked the project. And since its reveal--which, again, was on December 11, about six weeks ago now--the studio hasn't made a peep about Highguard. No combat overview. No hero showcase. No lore explanation. Zero, zilch, nada, nothing.
Well, there was one thing. The team made some changes to the game's tags on the Steam store page and tweaked several packages in the background. This showed signs of life, but once again, that was it until today's X post.
Highguard is developed by former Apex Legends and Titanfall folks, so contrast this reveal with the former.
Developed by Respawn Entertainment, the free-to-play battle royale shooter was announced on February 4, 2019, and, following a livestream later that day, was immediately playable for anyone on consoles and PC. Respawn Entertainment didn't fuss. The team showed the game, then put it out. That was that, and the surprise announcement seemed to have boded well for the studio, as Apex Legends is still going strong seven years later. Again, when looking at Highguard, it was announced on December 11, 2025, and six weeks later, we're finally going to learn something about it ... the same day it comes out? That's just some strange marketing.
Who knows? Highguard could be a really solid game. Respawn Entertainment knows how to make a slick shooter, and considering folks who worked on Apex Legends and Titanfall are working on this, we can at least assume that Highguard will feature slick shooting. We'll just have to find out during the January 26 livestream, and when we get our hands on it that same day.
Highguard launches as a free-to-play game for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on January 26.
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As the studio announced on X, the launch showcase will go live on Monday, January 26, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. During the livestream, Wildlight Entertainment will share "an in-depth look at Highguard" with a full gameplay deep dive, a look at year-one plans, and more. You can catch the broadcast on Highguard's YouTube channel.
Highguard Goes Missing
And ... that's it, for now. Wildlight Entertainment hasn't said anything else and hasn't responded to any replies to its X post as of this writing, so we'll all have to wait until January 26 to hear more about this bizarre TGA closer. Again, in case you weren't paying attention, that's the same day that Highguard comes out. Strange marketing.
That's exactly what makes this whole situation so fascinating. There have been reports about how much it costs to show at The Game Awards, with longer trailers reportedly running a team's wallet some $1 million. It's also been reported that Keighley didn't charge Wildlight Entertainment a fee for the final slot, instead offering that segment to the team because he really liked the project. And since its reveal--which, again, was on December 11, about six weeks ago now--the studio hasn't made a peep about Highguard. No combat overview. No hero showcase. No lore explanation. Zero, zilch, nada, nothing.
Well, there was one thing. The team made some changes to the game's tags on the Steam store page and tweaked several packages in the background. This showed signs of life, but once again, that was it until today's X post.
Compare And Contrast
Highguard is developed by former Apex Legends and Titanfall folks, so contrast this reveal with the former.
Developed by Respawn Entertainment, the free-to-play battle royale shooter was announced on February 4, 2019, and, following a livestream later that day, was immediately playable for anyone on consoles and PC. Respawn Entertainment didn't fuss. The team showed the game, then put it out. That was that, and the surprise announcement seemed to have boded well for the studio, as Apex Legends is still going strong seven years later. Again, when looking at Highguard, it was announced on December 11, 2025, and six weeks later, we're finally going to learn something about it ... the same day it comes out? That's just some strange marketing.
Who knows? Highguard could be a really solid game. Respawn Entertainment knows how to make a slick shooter, and considering folks who worked on Apex Legends and Titanfall are working on this, we can at least assume that Highguard will feature slick shooting. We'll just have to find out during the January 26 livestream, and when we get our hands on it that same day.
Highguard launches as a free-to-play game for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on January 26.
Source