Highguard Closes The Game Awards
The Game Awards usually end with a huge surprise, the kind of reveal that has PC gamers buzzing for weeks. This year though, the show wrapped up with something a little different: the announcement of Highguard, a new PvP raid shooter from Wildlight Entertainment.
On paper, Highguard sounds like it should be a big deal. Wildlight is made up of 61 developers who previously worked on heavy hitters like Apex Legends, Titanfall and multiple Call of Duty titles. Host Geoff Keighley really leaned into that pedigree, hyping the game as a project that would push the shooter genre forward.
Keighley stressed that unlike the usual far off teasers, Highguard is already deep in development and close to launch. He told the audience he had played it himself and promised that once we saw the trailer, we would want to dive in too. With that setup, expectations were sky high.
But once the trailer rolled, a lot of viewers felt a disconnect between the build up and what they actually saw.
What Highguard Is Trying To Be
Highguard is pitched as a PvP raid shooter where teams fight over control of a mythical continent. You play as Wardens, described as arcane gunslingers who ride and fight across the landscape. The core loop seems to revolve around:
- Competing with rival Warden crews to take possession of an item called the Shieldbreaker
- Using it to break into the enemy base
- Destroying that base to secure territory
Wildlight calls this an all new breed of shooter, but the reveal did not do a great job of explaining what actually makes it unique. The trailer shows flashy mounts, sci fi fantasy weapons and a squad of distinct characters that clearly lean into the hero shooter style.
There is a ghostly horse mount that caught some attention, but even that was quickly compared to Destiny's sparrows, just with legs. The Wardens themselves come off as fairly generic hero shooter archetypes rather than instantly iconic designs. The writing does not help either. Lines like "Your light belongs to me" and "I am the coming storm" hit more like parody than hype, especially to a crowd that has heard every dramatic shooter one liner under the sun.
The official Steam description does not add much more detail. It repeats the pitch about riding, fighting and raiding as Wardens but does not drill into mechanics, progression, or what makes a PvP raid shooter different from the sea of hero shooters and objective based modes we already have on PC.
Why PC Gamers Are Skeptical
The lukewarm reaction to Highguard is not just about the trailer itself. It is also about timing and expectations in today's PC gaming landscape.
First, there is fatigue. Over the last decade we have seen a long line of team based PvP shooters launch with big promises and then vanish when they failed to build a lasting audience. Hero shooters in particular are a crowded and risky space. If your game does not immediately communicate a strong identity and a hook that feels fresh, players tend to move on quickly.
Second, Highguard was used as the final big reveal of The Game Awards. That spot naturally builds expectations of something surprising or truly standout. Closing with a game that many viewers felt looked like just another hero shooter created a sense of letdown, even among people who might otherwise have shrugged and moved on.
That disappointment shows up clearly in early metrics. The official announcement trailer on YouTube has a heavily negative like to dislike ratio, and comments across social platforms are filled with comparisons to Concord, another multiplayer shooter that failed to gain traction. Some people even joked that Highguard looks like the kind of fake video game you would see on a TV show or movie rather than a real project.
There is also the Titanfall factor. When Wildlight was first announced back in 2022, some dedicated Titanfall fans quietly hoped the studio would deliver a spiritual successor to that series. Given how unlikely a true Titanfall 3 is, any new project from former developers comes with baggage and expectations. Instead of wall running mechs and kinetic sandbox combat, those fans are seeing yet another hero shooter in a space already packed with them.
Online, you can find posts summarizing the vibe in blunt terms. Some say Highguard looks like a game that started development back when hero shooters were at peak popularity and has finally emerged into a very different, more skeptical market. Others predict it will struggle to last more than a month if it does not bring something truly special to the table.
Can Highguard Turn It Around?
Despite the harsh early reaction, it is worth remembering that trailers do not always tell the full story. Highguard could have smart systems, satisfying gunplay and a strong progression loop that simply did not shine through in a single Game Awards trailer. There are recent examples like Marvel Rivals that prove a new PvP hero style game can still break out if the execution is strong and the gameplay feels great on PC.
Highguard will not have long to wait for a verdict. The game is set to launch very soon on Steam as a free to play title. That gives it at least one major advantage. PC gamers can jump in without spending money and see for themselves whether the raid structure, base assaults and Warden abilities create something more interesting than the marketing has shown so far.
For now, the bigger story around Highguard is not just the game itself but what its reveal says about the state of multiplayer shooters and expectations at gaming's biggest shows. To stand out in today's PC space, a new PvP shooter needs more than polished visuals and familiar hero designs. It needs a clear, instantly understandable hook that tells players why this should replace or complement the games they already invest time in.
If Wildlight can demonstrate that with real gameplay and strong post launch support, Highguard might surprise people. If it cannot, then its stint as the closer of The Game Awards may end up remembered more as a misread of the moment than the birth of the next big PC shooter.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/fps/internet-not-convinced-it-should-care-about-another-pvp-hero-shooter-collective-eye-roll-plunges-big-game-awards-finale-reveal-into-a-youtube-dislikes-hole/
