Highguard Reemerges With Launch Showcase

After a mysterious silence following its high-profile reveal, Highguard has officially reemerged to confirm what fans have been waiting to hear: the game is still coming next week.

The free-to-play PvP raid shooter made waves when it closed out The Game Awards 2025, but subsequent weeks brought no additional information, leaving the community to wonder about the project's status. Now, developer Wildlight Entertainment has stepped forward with concrete plans.

The studio announced a comprehensive launch showcase that will provide an in-depth look at the game just days before its scheduled release. This move appears designed to address growing uncertainty while building momentum for the impending launch.

The game's journey from reveal to silence to reemergence has been notably brief. Highguard ended The Game Awards 2025 with its debut trailer, generating significant discussion across the gaming community. However, the weeks following that reveal brought an unusual information vacuum.

Wildlight Entertainment failed to follow up the cinematic trailer with additional materials, gameplay footage, or detailed explanations of the game's mechanics. This absence created a vacuum that speculation quickly filled.

The studio's latest announcement serves as both confirmation of the release date and a direct response to community concerns. By scheduling a launch showcase, Wildlight is taking a proactive approach to rebuilding momentum ahead of release.

Tune in on Monday, January 26 at 10am PT for an in-depth look at Highguard direct from the studio, featuring a full gameplay deep dive, year one plans, and much more.

What players can expect from Highguard is a unique blend of fantasy and shooter mechanics. The game positions players as Wardens, described as arcane gunslingers fighting for control of a mythic continent.

The core gameplay loop centers on three distinct activities:

• Ride across the mythic continent with arcane abilities
• Fight using gunplay combined with magical mechanics
• Raid objectives in competitive PvP encounters

The development team brings significant pedigree to this ambitious project. Wildlight Entertainment includes creators who previously worked on Apex Legends and Titanfall at Respawn Entertainment, suggesting the game will feature polished movement and combat systems.

The studio appears to be following a release strategy reminiscent of Apex Legends, which launched in 2019 with minimal pre-release marketing but achieved massive success through streamer engagement and word-of-mouth on launch day.

The silence following the initial reveal created space for doubt to grow. Some members of the gaming community questioned whether Highguard truly warranted the coveted closing slot at The Game Awards, the industry's most prominent reveal platform.

The timing of Highguard's emergence has also drawn scrutiny. The memory of Sony's Concord, a live-service PvP shooter that struggled commercially, remains fresh in the industry's collective consciousness. This context has led some observers to express concern about Highguard's prospects.

Online discourse has included declarations that the game might be dead on arrival, though such predictions remain speculative. The upcoming showcase will provide the first substantial opportunity for Wildlight to demonstrate why Highguard deserves attention in an increasingly crowded market.

Despite the skepticism, the development team's track record and the game's unique premise suggest there may be more substance behind the cinematic reveal than critics assume.

The technical details for Highguard's release are now clearly defined. The game will launch simultaneously across three platforms on January 26, making it accessible to the broadest possible audience from day one.

Platform availability includes:

• PC (via digital distribution)
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox Series X and S

The January 26 launch showcase represents a critical moment for the game's reception. By presenting a full gameplay deep dive alongside year-one content plans, Wildlight has the opportunity to transform skepticism into anticipation.

The timing of the showcase—just days before release—suggests confidence in the product and a strategy focused on letting the game speak for itself rather than engaging in an extended pre-release marketing campaign.

Highguard's reemergence marks the beginning of its final pre-launch phase. The January 26 showcase will serve as the definitive introduction to the game's mechanics, content roadmap, and vision for the future.

For players who were intrigued by the initial reveal but concerned by the subsequent silence, this event will provide the answers needed to make an informed decision. The combination of proven talent and ambitious gameplay design creates a compelling, if uncertain, proposition.

As the launch date approaches, all eyes will be on Wildlight Entertainment to see if Highguard can live up to the expectations set by its Game Awards reveal and overcome the skepticism that followed.