Wildlight Co-Founder Discusses Controversial Highguard Announcement at The Game Awards and Player Reaction
Journalist Jason Schreier interviewed Wildlight co-founder Dusty Welch the day after the release of Highguard, which launched on January 26th. In the conversation, the developer talked about the decision to show the game at the The Game Awards 2025 ceremony instead of the initial plan to release it without a prior announcement — following the example of Apex Legends, on which many of Highguard's creators had previously worked.
The final showcase of Highguard drew criticism from part of the audience: viewers were expecting a louder and more high-profile announcement, as the game closed the ceremony. According to Welch, the team has no definitive answer to the question of whether this decision was right — and perhaps there never will be, even if the project ultimately succeeds. He emphasized that dealing with the toxic reaction surrounding the game is difficult, but it's impossible to say whether the situation would have been different under an alternative launch scenario.
"I don't know, and we will never be able to answer such a question. But I think this is an aspect that all developers will have to consider in the future," noted Welch.
At the same time, the Wildlight co-founder stressed that the studio is not afraid to take risks and acknowledges that over time, research may appear on the influence of The Game Awards on the perception of such announcements.
The team intends to actively develop Highguard and respond to player feedback. For example, on January 31st, a temporary 5v5 mode was added to the game — it was introduced after complaints that the maps felt too spacious in the "3v3" format. The day before, on January 30th, the developers released the first major patch.