Highguard CEO says The Game Awards trailer missed the mark as the shooter launches with little marketing

Wildlight Entertainment has now launched its free-to-play shooter Highguard (January 26), and the studio’s leadership is owning up to its rocky first impression. In an interview with PC Gamer, CEO and co-founder Dusty Welch said he wished the game “had been received better,” pointing specifically at the trailer shown during The Game Awards.

Welch said the team saw the feedback and felt the reveal video didn’t do a good enough job explaining what makes Highguard tick. He suggested they leaned too hard into making an entertaining trailer for the show, instead of clearly showing the game’s “unique loop.”

He also said the studio’s spot at The Game Awards happened because executive producer and host Geoff Keighley wanted to highlight something different on the show, and that Keighley had played the game and liked it.

As for why Highguard arrived with so little marketing in the lead-up, Wildlight design and creative director Jason McCord told PC Gamer it was intentional. The plan, he said, was to announce the game, go quiet, and then let the next big beat be players actually getting hands-on with it, a strategy he compared to Apex Legends in 2019.

Wildlight Entertainment was founded in 2023 by former Respawn developers. Welch previously worked as COO and GM on Apex Legends, and McCord was a design director on Apex. The studio also includes former Respawn game director Chad Grenier and former creative director Mohammad Alavi.