Shooter Highguard launches free-to-play today, raids and horseback gunplay confirmed

Highguard just went live today, and this free-to-play shooter from Apex Legends veterans blends mounted gunplay with tactical raids. 3v3 teams will battle for control across a mythical continent starting at 10 AM PST. What makes this raid shooter different from every other competitive title?

A Raid Shooter Like Nothing Else

Highguard defies simple categorization. It’s not a battle royale, not a traditional team deathmatch, and certainly not a MOBA. Instead, Wildlight Entertainment created a PvP raid shooter where two teams of three players fortify bases, gather resources, and orchestrate coordinated raids to destroy enemy strongholds. Each match escalates through distinct phases. Teams start by reinforcing walls and selecting gear loadouts. They ride mounts across vast open maps hunting loot and resources. Then they fight for the legendary Shieldbreaker, a magical sword that breaks enemy shields. Finally, they initiate raids using siege towers to breach defended bases. Matches typically last 10 to 30 minutes, with dramatic swings in momentum as teams gain power.

The core flow combines survival shooter exploration, Capture the Flag objectives, and MOBA-style raid mechanics. Game Director Chad Grenier revealed the concept came from team members who loved raiding enemy bases in the survival classic Rust. They wanted to distill that chaotic thrill into a refined, competitive, repeatable experience. Every match emphasizes escalation, fortification, clashing, then coordinated raids until one base falls.

Horseback Gunplay Meets Strategic Combat

Mounts transform how shooters feel. Players summon and dismiss horses, bears, panthers, or gryphons at will to cover vast map distances efficiently. Imagine galloping on a bone-armored bear across open fields while spotting the Shieldbreaker icon on your minimap. The Apex Legends pedigree shines here. Respawn Entertainment veterans brought their legendary gunplay smoothness and movement tech to Highguard. The 10 launch weapons include the Ranger sniper rifle, Paladin automatic shotgun, and tactical raid tools like rocket launchers and sledgehammers. Matches demand flexibility, requiring loadouts that handle both long-range duels and close-quarters base infiltration.

The eight Wardens available at launch add depth. Atticus throws lightning spears as area denial. Una summons helpful nature spirits that heal and stun. Kai creates massive ice walls for chokepoint control. Each Warden is unique per team, forcing crews to coordinate ability combinations with weapon choices and base layouts.

Content Roadmap That Keeps Giving

Wildlight learned hard lessons from Apex Legends. CEO Dusty Welch revealed that Respawn‘s surprise launch left no post-release content pipeline ready, creating a gap before new updates arrived. Highguard was built differently from day one, with live-service architecture baked into hiring, pipelines, tools, and partnerships. Every single episode splits into two parts, delivering new content monthly. All core gameplay additions stay free—only cosmetics are monetized. The team already has year-one content deep in development, showing commitment beyond launch hype.

“Starting this company, Chad and I knew we have to think about building it differently. The people we hire, the pipelines we set up, the tools, the technologies, so that we’re thinking from day one how to successfully operate a live service and have an ongoing, meaningful dialog with our player base, and constantly be delighting and surprising them with content.”

— Dusty Welch, CEO, Wildlight Entertainment

From Titanfall to Tempests

Wildlight Entertainment isn’t some unknown indie studio. The team includes voices from Apex Legends, Titanfall, and Call of Duty. This is Respawn pedigree applied independently. The studio operates without publisher constraints, giving creative freedom that shaped Highguard‘s bold direction. 97,000 players jumped into Steam during the first hour, signaling real hunger for something different in shooters. Critics praised the fresh gameplay loop, calling it a unique combo that could start a whole new genre. Polygon reviewers spent four hours hands-on and emerged convinced it’s one of the best new shooters launching recently. That’s powerful validation from outlets normally skeptical of live-service debuts.

Crossplay drops immediately across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Friends on any platform team up instantly. The client runs smoothly thanks to Respawn’s veteran optimization work. Performance targets 60 FPS on console without sacrificing visual fidelity in battles where clarity matters most.

Can This Shooter Sustain the Hype?

The live-service shooter market overcrowds with choices. Overwatch 2 dominates hero mechanics. Valorant owns tactical gunplay. Apex Legends itself remains competitive. So what advantages does Highguard bring to sustain engagement? The raid shooter mode doesn’t map onto existing battle royale or extraction formulas. The mounted combat feels genuinely fresh. The base destruction creates emergent stories every match. And the developer commitment, articulated by veterans burned out on surprise launches, suggests staying power. Wildlight has the credibility, the experience, and the resources to support Highguard long-term. Early player reception clocked mostly positive reviews on Steam despite some launch jitters. The question isn’t whether Highguard has potential, but whether the shooter community embraces something genuinely new when comfort picks exist.

Sources

• Xbox Wire – Detailed hands-on preview covering gameplay mechanics, developer interviews, and live-service plans
• GameSpot – Launch day coverage of the 2026 roadmap and episode structure for year one
• Wildlight Entertainment – Official announcements confirming release date, platform support, and content roadmap

Annabelle Ink

Annabelle Ink is a gaming journalist and lifelong gamer who lives and breathes video game culture. From console releases to esports tournaments, this dedicated journalist brings insider knowledge and genuine enthusiasm to every review and feature. Her expertise spans multiple gaming platforms, helping readers discover their next favorite game while staying connected to the pulse of the gaming industry.