There has been a lot of speculation that Highguard, the upcoming hero shooter game from Apex Legends and Titanfall veterans, must have paid big bucks for its finale slot at The Game Awards. That made it the highest-profile debut in the biggest game showcase of the year. And it backfired. The game’s reveal was poorly received, and it also ended The Game Awards on a strange note, as that spot is usually reserved for a much-anticipated game or a big surprise.
Now, two separate sources have told me that Highguard did not have to pay for that hugely coveted spot at all. Reportedly, showrunner Geoff Keighley just really liked the game and offered it to them. There is speculation that another game may have dropped out of the spot, opening it up, but I can’t confirm that. The revelation that Highguard didn’t need to pay for the spot was previously reported by Imran Khan, which I can now corroborate.
I have seen a lot of criticism of Geoff Keighley in the wake of this news, which I don’t think is warranted. There’s talk of him “sending the game out to die” and screwing it over somehow. While clearly this was not ultimately a good decision by either party, if anything, it’s just Keighley attempting to help a game he liked. Hardly malicious. Ultimately, it was up to Highguard developer Wildlight to decide if they wanted to appear there, but obviously they believe in their own game, and it would have been sort of crazy to turn that down.
Highguard announced a January 26, 2026 release date, now just over a week away, and it has not done any additional marketing whatsoever, not even a tweet. I’ve recently been made aware of a recent major preview event for the game, and coverage of it will no doubt begin next week. But starting your actual marketing campaign a week before release is…a choice, particularly when you would think you’d want to preview characters and modes and such to try and turn that initial sentiment around, and better explain what the game actually is.
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Highguard has the advantage of at least being free-to-play, so there will be no commitment to try it out. The concept of the game, a “raid” based shooter, seemingly about pressing forward to take territory, seems a lot different than a 5v5 arena game or another extraction shooter. But the trailer did, unfortunately, at least look generic, and hero shooter exhaustion is a real thing unless you are, say, using an entire roster of Marvel characters.
There is no guarantee at this point that Highguard will succeed or fail, or be good or bad. There’s just too much we don’t know. Certainly, after launching a widely lambasted trailer and saving all marketing for a few days before launch, that does not seem to bode well, but no, the idea that they blew their entire budget on The Game Awards spot is not the case. I’ve asked Wildlight for comment and will update if I hear back.
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