Geoff Keighley Denies Financial Stake in Highguard as Wildlight’s Game Awards Spot Sparks Rumors

This caught my attention because the Game Awards are one of the few windows where an indie can suddenly reach millions-so when a previously quiet studio gets a featured, unpaid final reveal, the internet will invent a story if the optics are shaky.

Geoff Keighley Says He Has No Financial Stake In Highguard

• Keighley publicly denied any personal financial stake in Highguard: “lol absolutely not.”
• Wildlight says The Game Awards exposure was offered free; the studio accepted the platform and called Keighley a friend.
• Highguard peaked at ~97,000 concurrent Steam players on launch; Wildlight has a year-one roadmap and microtransactions without loot boxes or ads.
• The real story is optics and follow-through: a big spotlight helps, but keeping players requires the updates and polish now promised.

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Publisher|Wildlight
Release Date|January 26, 2026
Category|Free-to-play fantasy shooter
Platform|PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
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How the rumor started – and what people are actually mistaking

After Highguard’s December Game Awards spot – the final reveal, shown without Wildlight paying for the slot — some corners of the internet assumed Geoff Keighley must have a financial stake in the game. The sequence (unpaid placement + big stage + studio anonymity) created an appearance problem, and appearances spread as accusations without evidence.

Keighley responded bluntly when asked: “lol absolutely not.” Wildlight CEO Dusty Welch confirmed Keighley is a “friend of the studio” who played the game and liked it, and said the team accepted the opportunity when Keighley offered it. Wildlight also told outlets the plan had originally been a shadowdrop similar to Apex Legends — a nod to some team members’ past work — but Keighley pitched the Game Awards appearance instead.

Why the optics mattered — and why the pushback was predictable

The Game Awards routinely charges for premium reveal slots, and Keighley is a high-profile gatekeeper in games PR. When an unpaid indie spot arrives as the show’s closer, skepticism follows. That skepticism is amplified by social media’s tendency to prefer conspiracies to nuance.

There’s a second dynamic: live-service and free-to-play launches are judged harshly in week one. Fans expect instant polish and meaningful loop clarity; when the trailer “didn’t do enough” to explain the gameplay, backlash arrived fast. Keighley’s optimistic social post — a Jurassic Park GIF about skeptics being proven wrong — further inflamed critics rather than cooling things down.

Supporters pushed back. Mark Rein of Epic called the criticism “massively unwarranted,” arguing Keighley used a major channel to help an indie with potential. That’s a fair counterpoint: influential figures offering exposure can expand industry diversity, but they also accept the responsibility of clear transparency to avoid bad optics.

Highguard’s situation now — numbers, roadmap, and risks

On launch day Highguard hit roughly 97,000 concurrent Steam players. Console numbers are unclear. Wildlight says it’s not chasing instant blockbuster metrics and promises longevity: a year-one roadmap of maps, characters, weapons and mounts, and continued live support. The game uses microtransactions but has no loot boxes or ads — a point Wildlight emphasizes to head off one common free-to-play gripe.

That said, the free-to-play shooter space is brutally competitive. Initial curiosity converts to retention only if the core loop and matchmaking feel good, and if the roadmap deliveries arrive on time. The Game Awards spotlight gave Highguard a jump-start; now Wildlight has to justify that faith with updates, tuning, and clear communication.

What this means for players

If you were curious but skeptical: try the game after a few updates if the first day experience bothers you. Wildlight publicly owns the rough edges and has promised content cadence. If you’re worried about monetization, the absence of loot boxes and ads is a reassuring baseline, but track how weapon/character unlocks and cosmetics are priced as the roadmap unfolds.

For the industry, this episode is a reminder: unpaid promotion from influential figures can help small teams reach scale, but transparency and clear messaging matter. When the reveal didn’t communicate the loop, it allowed suspicion to grow faster than the actual facts.

TL;DR

There’s no evidence Geoff Keighley has a financial stake in Highguard — he denies it, and Wildlight says the Game Awards spot was an offered favor. The real issue was optics: a big, unpaid reveal that didn’t clearly explain the game invited mistrust. Highguard launched with strong curiosity (≈97k concurrent on Steam) and a year-one roadmap; now Wildlight must deliver updates and polish to keep players beyond the initial splash.