Why Highguard could be another nail in the coffin for Overwatch
Unveiled as Geoff Keighley’s ‘one more thing’ at the tail-end of the The Game Award s, Highguard was revealed to fans as a project of former Apex Legends and Titanfall developers. It takes on a mythical aesthetic with heroes wielding a mixture of arcane firearms and magical abilities.
While there’s a huge element of arena-style shooter gameplay, Highguard has a few wrinkles that set it apart from the rather saturated hero shooter crowd.
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Matches will take place in two halves with players first fighting to earn possession of something called the ‘Shieldbreaker’. From the trailer, this appears to be a huge battering ram that penetrates a forcefield protecting an enemy base.
Once this is destroyed, teams will need to break into the enemy base and plunder as much territory as they can to earn score.
Keighley told audiences ahead of the reveal: “I’ve played it and after you’ve seen this trailer, I think you’re going to want to as well.”
However, gamers weren’t necessarily quick to agree with him. Over on Reddit, the reception to Highguard isn’t all positive with one gamer writing: “I don't want to be a hater, but Highguard looks like another failed Overwatch clone.”
A second concurs, dubbing Highguard a ‘waste of a final game trailer’.
Highguard is arriving at a bit of a tricky time for hero shooters in general. While the likes of Marvel Rivals and Overwatch are maintaining healthy playerbases, they’re much smaller than the highs of what they used to be.
It was also only last year when Sony released its own hero shooter Concord to a failure of epic proportions. The $200 million investment proved so unpopular that it was pulled from sale and refunded to those who purchased it after just a week.
However, Highguard does have a few things in its favour. The development team is made up of over 60 veteran shooter developers from Respawn Entertainment, so there’s clearly a lot of talent with a pedigree in this genre.
While Concord and Overwatch 2 had a paid barrier to entry, Highguard will be completely free to play, allowing gamers to try the game without parting with any cash.
There’s also the fact that Highguard will be completely self-published by Wildlight Entertainment, potentially allowing the team to execute on its vision without the interference of C-suite execs.
Time will only tell, though, and the proof will be in the pudding when Highguard hits digital stores on January 26, 2026. That’s in just over six week’s time, making it almost a complete stealth drop.