That team-based shooter with phantom horses that debuted at The Game Awards and then promptly disappeared is not actually dead: A showcase featuring 'gameplay deep dive, year one plans, and much more' is coming next week

(Image credit: Wildlight Entertainment)

After weeks of determined, frankly kinda weird silence, the Highguard machine has suddenly sputtered to life to promise that all will be revealed on January 26—which, for the record, remains Highguard's release date.

"Tune in on Monday, January 26, at 10am PT for the Highguard Launch Showcase," Wildlight wrote today on X. "Here, we'll share an in-depth look at Highguard direct from the studio, featuring a full gameplay deep dive, year one plans, and much more."

It was afterwards that things got weird, though. Instead of following up with a better look at the game, or even just a vague promise that it'll be good, developer Wildlight Entertainment went stone silent. And stayed that way: Even the Highguard Steam page remains a barebones shell with nothing more than system requirements and a two-line description of the game, unchanged from when it was first revealed.

Tune in on Monday, January 26, at 10am PT for the Highguard Launch Showcase&#9876;&#65039;Here, we'll share an in-depth look at Highguard direct from the studio, featuring a full gameplay deep dive, year one plans, and much more. — (Image credit: Wildlight Entertainment (Twitter))

That led to some high-strung speculation that mistakes had been made: One popular theory was that the unexpectedly cold reaction to the trailer had developers scrambling, and the planned launch date was sure to be pushed back as a result. But just like the rest of the Steam store page, the launch date never changed: Even as redditors theorized and guessed and reminded themselves of other games that were delayed less than a week before launch, that January 26 date did not budge.

Now that it seems truly carved in stone, I have to say I'm looking forward to the reveal. I still don't think the TGA trailer was very good, and I can't run Highguard anyway—it requires SecureBoot and TPM 2.0 to run, and my aging PC doesn't support them—but I'm really eager to see what Wildlight has cooked up, and how people will respond once they can get their hands on the real deal. I hope it's good!

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.