'We Know There's a Lot of Eyes on Us After Our Game Awards Trailer' — as Highguard Goes Live, Dev Insists 'We're in This for the Long Haul'

Highguard is retired present pursuing its high-profile showing astatine past month’s The Game Awards — and its developers person said a afloat twelvemonth of post-launch contented is already “deep successful development.”

The free-to-play PvP raid shooter is unrecorded connected PC, Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5, with afloat crossplay. Development workplace Wildlight is made up of erstwhile Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare staff, and promises “a caller competitory operation that blends siege warfare and territory power successful an evolving lucifer wherever powerfulness levels escalate until lone 1 basal is near standing.”

Here’s however Highguard works, according to Wildlight:

Players measurement into the boots of Wardens, arcane gunslingers sent to combat for power of a mythical continent wherever magic, gunfire, and siege warfare collide:

• Teams of 3 prime a unsocial basal and fortify their defenses, past thrust retired crossed vast, uncharted lands to loot, harvest resources, and upgrade their cogwheel portion clashing with a rival Warden crew.
• As magical storms rotation in, teams conflict implicit the Shieldbreaker, a almighty sword required to breach force defenses. Carrying the Shieldbreaker to the opposing basal triggers a afloat raid — forcing teams to attack, defend, adapt, and escalate successful powerfulness arsenic the lucifer continues.
• Most of the time, triumph doesn’t travel with a azygous raid. When that happens, the force basal shields repair, the siege operation dissipates, and the combat escalates arsenic loot, gear, and weapons each upgrade successful the field, and a caller Shieldbreaker forms successful a antithetic determination successful the world. From there, the combat for power continues — until lone 1 basal is near standing.

Each Warden is built specifically for Highguard’s PvP Raid Mode. Wardens harvester guns, raid tools, and arcane abilities, each designed to enactment raiding, destruction, defense, infiltration, assets acquisition, and open-world combat.

Mounts let teams to determination rapidly crossed monolithic maps, combat connected the move, and transport the Shieldbreaker. Magical abilities supplement combat, but Highguard is inactive a weapon crippled astatine its core. Gunplay remains central, with abilities and tools adding tactical depth.

At launch, the crippled features a wide array of content: 5 large-scale maps, six chiseled bases, 8 Wardens, 3 equine types, 10 weapons, 3 raid tools, eleven limb and raid-tool mods, and a wide scope of lootable items. More contented volition beryllium added via seasonal updates.

Image credit: Wildlight Entertainment.

Wildlight hadn’t said a connection astir Highguard since its announcement astatine The Game Awards, opting to motorboat it cold. Today, present the crippled is retired successful the wild, wildlight said it was built “with semipermanent play successful mind.”

“Wildlight brings decades of acquisition operating live-service shooters astatine scale, applying those lessons to Highguard’s motorboat and beyond, with a afloat twelvemonth of post-launch contented already heavy successful development,” the developer said. “Highguard’s unrecorded work is built astir Episodes — each lasting astir 2 months and divided into 2 parts — with caller halfway contented arriving each period passim 2026, including contented specified arsenic maps, bases, modes, Wardens, weapons, mounts, raid tools, and further loot items.”

Core gameplay contented — including caller maps, bases, Wardens, and modes — volition ever beryllium free, delivered done regular updates, with the archetypal question arriving successful 2 weeks pursuing launch, Wildlight insisted. The workplace added that each in-game purchases are cosmetic only, nonstop acquisition only, with nary effect connected gameplay and nary loot boxes oregon RNG.

Image credit: Wildlight Entertainment.

“Launch is simply a immense moment. But our squad builds franchises that basal the trial of time, and we’re successful this for the agelong haul,” said Dusty Welch, co-founder and CEO of Wildlight. “Success for america is simply a healthy, increasing planetary assemblage that’s enjoying the crippled — and a squad that’s energized by engaging with players and astonishing them with caller experiences implicit time.”

All players person the Episode One War Chest escaped forever, featuring 44 items, including 11 legendary skins and emotes for Wardens, weapons, and mounts.

“We cognize there’s a batch of eyes connected america aft our Game Awards trailer debut, and contiguous is yet the clip to amusement the satellite what we mean by a PvP Raid Shooter. We built Highguard astir a loop that doesn’t truly beryllium anyplace else,” commented Chad Grenier, co-founder and crippled manager astatine Wildlight. “Every lucifer is astir escalation: fortifying, venturing out, clashing, past mounting coordinated raids and defenses until lone 1 basal is near standing.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].