17 January 2026

Highguard Reportedly Didn’t Even Have to Pay for Its Spot at The Game Awards

By newsgame

Highguard was the last game revealed at the 2025 Game Awards, but if a new report is true, the game’s developers didn’t pay for its spot in the show. After being the final announcement of the night, there haven’t many updates about Highguard at all, but developers potentially not paying for its place at The Game Awards adds an interesting new layer to the story.

When host Geoff Keighley teased Highguard by revealing that it was developed by a team who had previously worked on Titanfall and Apex Legends, some viewers immediately assumed that the game would be some kind of spiritual successor to Titanfall, but that wasn’t the case. Highguard is a free-to-play hero shooter, and this took a lot of people by surprise. The game’s place in the awards show ignited speculation that the developer, Wildlight Entertainment, must have paid a fortune for the coveted spot, but it may have secured it completely for free.

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According to an Industry Insider, Highguard Didn’t Pay for Its Game Awards Spot After All

Reporter Paul Tassi took to Twitter to claim that Highguard didn’t have to pay for its spot at The Game Awards. It’s important to note that this news comes from a simple tweet and doesn’t reveal Paul’s source. So, as compelling as the claim is, it should be taken with a grain of salt until confirmed. Regardless, this is bound to stoke the flames of the Highguard controversy even more. The last announcement at the Game Awards is one of the most sought-after marketing slots in the industry and, traditionally, it tends to be from a major AAA developer that has a big IP to reveal or offer an update on. For example, Naughty Dog surprised gamers with the announcement of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at the 2024 ceremony. When Highguard was revealed to be the big game that would close out the 2025 Game Awards, a lot of viewers were confused.

Since Its Reveal, Highguard Has Kept Silent

To make the story even more head-scratching, Highguard‘s release date is less than two weeks away without any further updates. All the information that has been given is through its one trailer that was showcased at the Game Awards. This has raised a lot of questions about whether the game will actually even launch on time or not. There are also already plenty of theories about why Highguard was able to reportedly secure such a major spot for free. One prevailing theory that’s been making the rounds is that Geoff Keighley simply loved the game so much that he offered up the final spot. Further speculation on Twitter has pointed to the possibility that there may have been a different game and developer lined up that had to cancel at the last minute, causing Keighley to offer it to Highguard. Until Keighley or Wildlight Entertainment comes out and says something, there’s really no way to know for sure.

As of now, whether Highguard got its Game Awards spot for free or not remains a mystery. The backlash that the game has received has painted the title in a negative light, but its upcoming release will hopefully allow it to prove people wrong. There were a lot of big Game Awards 2025 announcements, but Highguard unexpectedly became a title that has generated a lot of discussion. The ongoing conversation about the hero shooter may be divisive, but its place in The Game Awards lineup definitely got people’s attention. With its release date around the corner, it’s going to be fascinating to see what Highguard is all about.