Highguard’s Silence Ahead of Launch Is a Bad Sign
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Highguard, the upcoming free-to-play PvP “raid” shooter from Wildlight Entertainment, made its debut as the final reveal at The Game Awards 2025.
It was the “we have one last thing to show” moment in the show that is meant to land hard before the Game of the Year presentation. Instead, it left people scratching their heads.
Fast forward three weeks after the reveal, and there’s been nothing but silence from the developers. No follow-up. No sense of urgency. No visible marketing push to support the game.
That’s especially strange when you consider that Highguard is reportedly set to release this month, on January 27.
A Missed Opportunity to Build Momentum
Landing the final slot in The Game Awards felt like there was a clear plan to follow up on such a commitment, yet we barely see anything. No Developer updates, deeper breakdowns, or at least something to remind people the game exists. Not even early content creator access for them to show the game to their communities.
All we have is a single announcement trailer on the game's official YouTube channel, and social media barely has anything during the game's release month.
That’s very unusual, considering this game is free-to-play and is a newly formed studio. On top of that, the reception of the reveal wasn’t all that kind online, as it’s echoing a similar response to when Concord’s gameplay reveal was shown. We all know how that turned out.
Was the negative reaction online enough for Wildlight to quietly rethink their rollout? Or are they gambling everything on a surprise-heavy launch day reveal?
It could start next week, dumping one piece of information after another until release, but time is running out as people are slowly forgetting. In today’s market, a pre-launch communication plan is essential, especially now, considering everyone’s knee-jerk reaction to Highguard was mainly “Oh, another hero shooter?” They are against people not excited, but disappointed at what they saw.
It’s puzzling, really, as this is from the developers who worked on Apex Legends and Titanfall. That puts even more weight, and quite frankly, it would have been a solid hit if they just decided to shadow drop the game after the show, like how Respawn Entertainment shocked the world with Apex Legends, slowly cementing their spot in the battle royale genre.
Either way, the silence is a red flag, and if Highguard struggles out of the gate, this early lack of communication will be one of the first things people point to. It was given a rare opportunity, and it’s looking that they failed to capitalize on it, or at the very least maintain a solid momentum.
About the Author - Carlos Hernandez
Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.
SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios put a ton of love and care into Yakuza Kiwami 2, and it runs flawlessly on Switch 2. If you’re like me and itching for a reason to take a plunge into the Yakuza universe, there’s no better time than the present.