Highguard Is out on Xbox – a 3V3 Raid Shooter Built for Monthly Drops

Highguard, a free-to-play 3v3 first-person “PvP raid shooter,” is available now on Xbox Series X|S. The debut project from Wildlight Entertainment – a new independent studio formed by veterans of Apex Legends, Titanfall and Call of Duty – blends base building, open-field skirmishes and coordinated sieges. Launch content includes 8 Wardens (heroes), 10 weapons, 6 bases and rideable mounts. The team says it has built the game around a live-service plan with two-month chapters and monthly updates focused on gameplay content.

What Highguard Actually Is

Wildlight describes Highguard as a competitive loop built around base defense and assault. Two teams of three fortify their bases, ride out to gather resources and fight, then trigger raids that can end the match if attackers succeed. It draws on elements of MOBAs, survival shooters and classic objective modes – but centers everything on repeatable, timed sieges rather than battle royale or extraction rules.

How a Match Unfolds

• Prep phase – Each round opens with roughly a minute to reinforce your base’s walls.
• Power-up – Teams roam large maps, harvesting crystals to spend at shops scattered across the world to change or upgrade their loadouts.
• Shieldbreaker event – A storm marks a location where a magical sword appears. Carry it to the enemy base to initiate a raid.
• Siege tower and breach – A tower spawns from a portal, cracks the shield and acts as an attacker forward respawn during the raid.
• Bomb sites – Attackers plant at one of three points behind breakable walls: two deal heavy damage; the central objective can eliminate the base outright.
• Phased pacing – If both bases survive, the match resets to a new Shieldbreaker phase with better gear in the world. Respawns are limited within phases to keep tempo high.

Typical matches last about 10-30 minutes, with escalating stakes as gear improves and defenses adapt.

Movement and Mounts

Alongside sprinting, sliding and mantling, Highguard leans into summonable mounts – horses, bears, panthers and gryphons – to cover long distances and intercept carriers. Differences are cosmetic, but mounts enable fast rotations and cinematic chase downs across wide-open terrain.

Roster, Bases and Gear at Launch

At launch, players choose from 8 Wardens – one unique character per team – each with a passive, a tactical on cooldown and a charge-based ultimate. The interplay between Wardens, bases and destructible layouts defines many siege outcomes.

• Wardens – Examples include Atticus (throws lightning spears that zap nearby foes until destroyed), Una (summons nature spirits that toss stun grenades and occasionally drop loot; her ultimate calls a towering tree spirit), and Kai (creates a large ice wall for hard zoning).
• Bases – Teams vote for one of 6 base layouts to slot into any map. Hellmouth, for instance, hangs over a lava chasm with narrow bridges – a natural choke for Kai’s wall.
• Weapons and tools – There are 10 weapons at launch; players carry two. Raid tools include a rocket launcher, an explosive sledgehammer and a zipline gun for tactical entries and structure damage.

Live-Service Roadmap and Monetization

Wildlight plans two-month chapters split into halves, enabling monthly drops of new Wardens, bases, maps, weapons, raid tools and modes. The first update – due in a few weeks – adds ranked play. Experimental playlists are also in development, including a mounted racing mode inspired by kart racers. The studio states that all gameplay content will be free, with monetization limited to cosmetics.

Launch Snapshot – Key Facts at a Glance

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The table below captures confirmed launch details and pacing. It’s intended as a quick reference for players jumping in on day one.

Developer Perspective

According to Game Director and co-founder Chad Grenier, the mode’s spark came from the thrill of base raids in survival sandboxes, refined into a competitive loop focused on escalation.

“Every match is about escalation: fortifying, venturing out, clashing, then mounting coordinated raids and defenses until only one base is left standing.”

Lead Designer Mohammad Alavi notes the phased pacing was tuned to be sustainable over long sessions, contrasting nonstop deathmatch fatigue. On live service, CEO and co-founder Dusty Welch says the team built pipelines with post‑launch support in mind from day one:

“Starting this company … we’re thinking from day one how to successfully operate a live service and have an ongoing, meaningful dialog with our player base.”

Why This Launch Matters

Highguard introduces a siege-first structure that doesn’t map to battle royale or extraction – potentially carving out space for tight 3v3 strategy built on mounts, destructible bases and hero synergies. If Wildlight delivers on its monthly content promise, players can expect a steady stream of new Wardens, bases and modes to keep the raid loop evolving.