When the 2025 Game Awards closed with the announcement of **Highguard**, a new live service game led by the creative minds behind *Apex Legends*, viewers responded with harsh criticism and general confusion. The coveted “one more thing” slot at The Game Awards has long been the place audiences see new games based on beloved IPs or ambitious new adventures from legendary studios. However, Highguard’s reveal didn’t have that expected impact.
The team behind the game recently explained how it all went down.
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During a private press event for Highguard prior to its January 26 release, I spoke with Dusty Welch (Founder and CEO) and Chad Grenier (Founder and Studio Head/Game Director) of Wildlight Entertainment to get the full rundown on Highguard and its creation.
During our chat, the developers openly addressed the criticism they received after Highguard was announced in December.
> “Clearly, the reception was not great,” said Dusty Welch when I asked about the announcement and release strategy for Highguard. “We probably made the wrong trailer. Or, we should’ve been showing the [gameplay] loop instead of trying to entertain people.”
Comments on Highguard’s announcement trailer mocked its art style, questioned its merit in an increasingly packed live service market, and criticized the decision to make it the final announcement at The Game Awards.
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However, unlike much speculation suggested, this was not a strategic play made by the folks at Wildlight Entertainment. In fact, for months, the plan had been to announce Highguard and then shadow drop it immediately after.
That was until Geoff Keighley presented them with an irresistible offer.
> “Geoff came in and he played the game, he loved it, and he said ‘I’d love to do something special with your product.’”
That “something special” was a slot at the end of the eleventh Game Awards.
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As the people who created *Apex Legends*—one of the most successful shadow drops gaming has ever seen—Wildlight’s founders were well aware that giving players immediate access to a new and unproven live service game was the best way to win them over.
But, unlike *Apex Legends*, Highguard is a self-published title. With no EA marketing budget or resources to fall back on, the developers thought that revealing their title at The Game Awards would help them find a larger audience.
> “This felt like a safer way with no safety net behind us.”
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Hindsight is always 20/20, and the negative response to Highguard’s reveal made it clear that a month of silence between the game’s reveal and release wasn’t the best choice.
However, the team remains confident that players will change their minds once they get their hands on the game.
I got to play several hours of Highguard ahead of its release, and I think there’s a chance they just might be right.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/147544/highguard-reveal-controversey-explained
