The Game Awards 2025 saw a wide range of interesting games make their debut but one that made an impression was Highguard, a new free-to-play multiplayer game dubbed a ‘raid shooter’. Unfortunately, the reveal of the game didn’t quite land the way developer Wildlight Entertainment expected, leaving many online commenters confused about what the game is all about as it sped towards its 26 January release.
The developers now have an uphill climb to show off what Highguard is all about. I got the chance to play the new online shooter ahead of its launch, and I saw how its ‘raid shooter’ gameplay turned out. Made from former creatives from the Call of Duty series and Apex Legends, Highguard feels equal parts Destiny 2 and Rainbow Six Siege with its fast-paced, spectacle-driven twist on capture-the-flag – but replace the flag with a powered-up sword.
Along with getting several hours of hands-on time, I also spoke with Wildlight Entertainment’s Co-Founder and CEO Dusty Welch and Co-Founder and Game Director Chad Grenier to learn more about the making of the game and how their original launch plans were initially different.
Highguard launch – quick links
Looking for a fresh twist on capture-the-flag
‘Highguard really came from a place of us starting a company [US-based studio Wildlight was founded in 2022] and having a clean slate with so many different ideas and directions we could take our next game,’ said Grenier.
‘We didn’t have a clearly defined lane to stay in, so we just played everything we could. We weren’t like “make another battle royale game”. We played extraction shooters, survival games, and we even looked at classic games like Wolfenstein, Doom, and even Tribes.’
Grenier added: ‘For Highguard, we wanted a twist on capture-the-flag that offered wide freedom of movement for gaining loot, building defenses and facing enemies. The result is a game loop that has a lot of familiarity, but feels unique and new for us.’
Set in a world that blends the stylings of the American Wild West with swords-and-sorcery high fantasy, Highguard follows a crew of powerful Wardens tasked with defending a magical realm and its community against powerful rivals.
This conceit lays the groundwork for its twist on 3 vs 3 multiplayer matches, all of which focus on the teams of Wardens powering up their weapons, setting up defenses, and building a plan for their siege of the enemy base.
Highguard’s siege gameplay and strategy
After spending some time with Highguard, I found a lot to like about this slick, exciting PvP game where the goal is to raid the opposing team’s base and destroy it from within. During my hands-on time, I played several matches to get a feel for the game’s flow and roster of Wardens – all of whom have their own abilities and personalities, similar to other hero shooters.
Each match has multiple phases that build towards the invasion of a base. During the starting phases, teams will pick up new weapons, armor and bonus trinkets to boost their abilities, all while building up defenses for their base.
The key item to acquire on the open map is the Siegebreaker, a magical sword that can penetrate the shield surrounding the opposing team’s base to go in for a direct attack. There’s only one sword to find, and each team will have to fight for it.
When the siege phase gameplay begins, the invading team brings their siege tower to create a respawn point and armory to power up for the infiltration. Inside, the invading team has to either destroy two generators or the base’s central power crystal to bring it all down.
The defending team will have to fight off the opposing team, and if they get enough kills, the siege phase ends, and they’ll be able to repair their defenses and power up further. Each base can only sustain a certain amount of damage, and even playing a game of whittling down the structural health with more minor engagements can win the game.
Chaotic and tense siege encounters
Highguard not only leans into fast combat and character-driven actions in battle, but it also showcases an impressive level of destruction during the siege encounters. I was really impressed and satisfied with how chaotic and tense these capstone fights turned out to be.
In one moment, when playing as the Warden Redmane, I sneaked around two players guarding a generator and used his beast roar ability to tear open a wall to make an opening for a sneak attack. These signature moments were something that the developers really wanted to nail for Highguard.
‘We’re really familiar with creating well-designed maps and level layouts from our time on Call of Duty, Titanfall, and even Apex Legends, but what we really wanted to focus on was creating more directional, tighter maps that played into destruction,’ said Grenier.
‘Early versions of the game really didn’t have a high level of destruction, so we added more weapons, like rocket launchers and hammers, to give players more tools and to ensure they’re leaning into destruction.’
He added: ‘It’s been like four years of tweaks to make it work and perfect, but we asked ourselves, “How do we make the good stuff happen and less of the bad things?” I feel we found a good spot for this to make it all work.’
When the action kicked in, I found Highguard‘s flow thrilling. There’s an interesting tactical framework in play when working with your team to strengthen and defend your base.
What’s really interesting is that your team’s base is not one singular type, but rather can be chosen from a selection before the game begins. Each base has its own layouts, ranging from vertically designed towers to sunken bunkers with different pathways around the base – and these layouts also create potential vulnerabilities depending on how the invading side approaches.
You really won’t know what base you’re invading until you reach that siege moment, which was really exciting to step into.
Plans to expand Highguard
So far, Highguard is offering a tight, exciting shooter that feels unique, but I do worry that the initial content available to players is a bit light. At launch, Highguard will start with a range of five maps, six base types, eight playable characters, different mounts, and 10 weapons with different modifiers to choose from. That said, the devs have plans for more down the line.
Kicking off with the first episode’s base game, further episodes will introduce new characters, locations, and gear items to choose from – very much in the vein of Apex Legends or Overwatch 2‘s rollout of new content.
The developers are keeping an ambitious rollout schedule of new content every two months, with further episodes showcasing the next drop. Highguard also includes in-game purchases for cosmetic items, which won’t be cycled out of the store overtime.
During the event, the developers were not only transparent with what’s planned for the future, but also with how the game’s initial reveal at The Game Awards turned out. Given that a certain segment of the online video game audience has had a somewhat negative reception to the game before its big release, it presents an uphill battle for the developers, which they’re keenly aware of.
Building on a rocky start
Wildlight Entertainment’s CEO was frank in his assessment of the situation – even revealing that the original plan for Highguard was for it to be a surprise reveal and launch on 26 January. Still, the opportunity for a spot at The Game Awards 2025 was too good to pass up.
Read: The Game Awards 2025: All the biggest gaming news and announcements
‘We made a trailer for a new game in this environment, and I think the audience would have preferred something that kind of explained the core loop and why it’s unique, so that’s on us,’ said Welch.
‘But we heard the feedback, and we went quiet, which was always the plan. We knew that the next time we came to talk to the audience and our player base, it would be with the game. So here we are launching the game, it’s free to play, and so you can form your own opinion, give it a chance, and see if you love it.
‘It won’t be for everybody, and that’s okay, but we’re super confident, and the team is resilient; we feel great about the game we have.’
I was pleasantly surprised by how solid and fun Highguard‘s combat engagements were. It shows a promising start to what’s hopefully a long-term experience that’ll showcase the game’s true scope.
Hopefully players will give this free-to-play shooter a shot, as it is worthy of taking those dives into some siege encounters.
