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Wardogs

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Wardogs
Video game cover art showing a soldier in a battlefield with tactical gear on
DeveloperBulkhead
PublisherTeam17
ProducerJoe Brammer
DesignerMark Pinney
EngineUnreal Engine 5
PlatformMicrosoft Windows
ReleaseEarly access
10 September 2026 (PC)
GenreFirst-person shooter
ModeMultiplayer

Wardogs (stylised in all caps) is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Bulkhead and published by Team17. It was released into closed beta on 22 August 2026 and early access for Microsoft Windows on 10 September 2026, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S releases scheduled for 2028. Inspired by the "King of the Hill" custom gamemode mod for Arma 3, Wardogs has players join one of three mercenary factions fighting a multi-sided battle over a randomised control zone in the mountains of Eastern Europe.

In-game, 100 players are split into three teams of 33 players each. Wardogs features a quasi-virtual economy in which players have in-game cash and must manage their finances to purchase their own equipment and vehicles while accounting for factors such as affordability, risk of equipment loss, and overall profits. Despite revolving around currency, Wardogs does not feature any microtransactions, such as an item shop or a battle pass system.

The development of the game took several years, with it first being pitched to Tencent with a budget of £10 million to £12 million. Disagreements between Bulkhead and Tencent led to Bulkhead joining Team17 and Wardogs being announced in February 2026 and marketed as a "Tactical All Out Warfare". Wardogs received positive reception upon early access release, with over two million copies sold and over 400,000 peak concurrent players within less than a week. It was also directly competing against Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on Steam's charts for the number one spot.

Before the early access launch, testers of the game said it exceeded expectations. Around or over £52.2 million in revenue was generated from Wardogs, putting it at number seven for Steam's 2026 list of new games. When launching into early access on 10 September 2026, Wardogs' servers went offline temporarily due to a high amount of traffic in-game. This sparked a significant wave of "review bombing" on its Steam page with players angry because it seem as live streamers were able to connect to servers with no issues or loading times.

Gameplay

[edit]
In-game footage from a player holding a weapon's perspective showing the environment around.
In-game screenshot of a player fighting on foot in a match

Wardogs is a player-versus-player tactical shooter, in which players are affected by realistic factors and can be killed quickly.[1][2] The game is set in an implied alternate history in a fictional mountainous region in Eastern Europe that is contested by three private military companies: Lonestar (blue) from the West, Valkyra (red) from the Soviet People's Republic, and Manticore (green) from the Kingdom of Persia.[3][4] Servers of up to 100 players are split into three teams representing these PMCs (maximum of 33 players each), who fight for a 2×2 kilometre "Control Zone" placed randomly on a larger 256-square-kilometre map.[5][6][7] The team with the most players in the Control Zone scores a point every ten seconds, which can be boosted by holding a much smaller slowly-moving "Hot Zone" within the Control Zone that counts players within it as double.[8][9][10][11] Across the map are towers containing digits of a code that, when completed, can force the Hot Zone to move toward a tower; teams can also build drills, which can draw the Hot Zone toward them while active.[12][13] As a way to help hold positions in and around the Control Zone, players can build structures with hammers and supplied building materials, with the ability to establish forward operating bases that offer greater structure and emplacement options and can serve as team rallying points, though they must be continuously supplied.[12][14]

The main gimmick of Wardogs is its "cash is king" style of play, derived from Arma 3's "King of the Hill" custom gamemode.[15][16] Each player's account in Wardogs starts with $10,000 in in-game cash, which can be used to purchase an assortment of weapons, equipment, ammunition, attachments, vehicles, helicopters, and supplies for themselves and their team.[17] These purchases, except initial unlocks, are not persistent and exist in the match only, but cash is persistent across matches, forcing players to be wise with their purchases, consider the risks of taking expensive equipment and vehicles to the front, and aim for a personal profit by the end of the match (with profits for their current life displayed next to the cash counter on the HUD).[18][19] Cash is a significant factor in gameplay, with certain tasks and actions such as kills, assists, transporting, supplying allies, and being in the Control Zone or Hot Zone all providing payment, creating financial incentives for playing support roles such as logistics, military engineering, or airlifting instead of prioritising combat.[6] In turn, players must use their cash for a large number of actions, such as buying gear and supplies, repairing their vehicles, or taking items from supply crates ("purchased" from the player that delivered the supply crate, who can also apply a markup to their supplies for greater profit, at risk of potentially making them too expensive and unappealing).[8][20]

Players can use cash as part of interactions and cooperation, such as paying vehicle drivers for a "taxi ride", offering cash as a "bribe" when incapacitated to encourage being revived, and giving small tips to players for transporting or reviving them.[21][14][20] Players can bet wagers on certain events and tasks, such as a player betting whether or not they can get a certain amount of kills in one life.[22] Cash could also serve a role in the game's anticheat system.[23] Cash, XP, and unlocks reset for all players with every season, but cash can be exchanged for gold bars, which are safe from seasonal resets, have a simulated exchange rate, and can be used to purchase cosmetics and emotes.[20] These gold bars are the only way to acquire these items, and the cash exchange is the only way to acquire gold bars; Wardogs is not planned to have microtransactions nor a battle pass.[24]

Development and release

[edit]

Development of Wardogs took several years and first started in Derby, England, with the engine of choice being Unreal Engine 5.[25] Bulkhead initially pitched the game's concept to the studio's prior owner, Tencent, with a budget of around £10 million and £12 million.[26] However, Tencent insisted on a larger and more expensive production and was confused and suspicious of Bulkhead's development doctrine that discouraged "throwing money at people and problems"; Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer likewise disdained Tencent's mandated corporate direction, and considered quitting and closing down Bulkhead if another buyer for the studio could not be found.[27] Ultimately, Bulkhead left Tencent in 2025 and joined a consortium with video game publisher Team17, making Wardogs a predominantly British production.[26][28]

Wardogs was announced on 5 February 2026 by Team17 with the tagline of "Tactical All Out Warfare".[29][30][31] On 6 June 2026, a gameplay trailer was released to Bulkhead's YouTube channel; it was also revealed at Future Games Show Summer Showcase.[32][33] During the development of Wardogs, Bulkhead laid off several workers, which directly affected QA testing.[34] A showcase of the full game was livestreamed on Twitch on 3 September 2026.[35] According to the developers, they are working on Proton and Linux support for the game.[36]

Wardogs launched into a closed beta on 22 August 2026 for people who pre-ordered it, and it released into early access on 10 September 2026.[37][38] On 7 September, it was announced that BisectHosting would be a hosting partner to balance server performance standards before launch.[39] Although the game was slated for release on 10 September, it was released on September 11 in certain timezones.[40] As a part of the game's launch, Bulkhead announced that Wardogs will be ported to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S in 2028.[41][42][43]

Reception

[edit]

Commercial performance

[edit]

According to Steam statistics, Wardogs reached the top of its charts at number one within hours of the early access launch, directly competing with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which entered early access on the same day.[48][49][50] It also had over one million Steam wishlists.[51] According to reports, Wardogs had thousands of testers that gave very positive feedback, with some also saying performance and optimisation have exceeded expectations.[52] Jokingly, the developers posted a video to YouTube titled "Ten Reasons Not to Buy Wardogs" in which they explain what Wardogs is and to "look into it more" when purchasing it.[53] Nearly 500,000 players played the closed beta, and it had over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam at one point.[54]

Before Wardogs was released, Joe Brammer wrote that he was already concerned for "hype dying down".[55] In September 2026, Wardogs surpassed 300,000 concurrent players on Steam and sold one million copies in its first day in early access, and by day two, it had sold 1.25 million.[56][57] On September 15, 2026, several sources reported that as of September 15, Wardogs had a peak player count of exactly 428,666 and over two million copies sold.[58][59][60] In response, Bulkhead posted to X saying, "Thank you all. Beyond humbled", and “We made a game we wanted to play with friends.[61] Watching you play it with yours has been the best”.[62] Polygon called Wardogs one of the "best FPS games of the decade" in an article they wrote.[63] Over £52.2 million in revenue was generated from the game, putting it at number seven for Steam's 2026 list of new games in terms of revenue.[64]

Critical reception

[edit]

Due to a high number of users trying to play, Wardogs' servers temporarily struggled to queue matches, making Bulkhead take the game offline while they fixed it, although the servers later came back up.[65] Joe Brammer said that it was most likely due to Valve Corporation rate-limiting the game.[65] During the hours that the servers were offline, a wave of negative reviews sparked on Steam, and the Steam page was set to a status of "Mixed".[66] Most reviewers were outraged that it appeared that streamers were able to skip login queues while regular players had to wait.[67] In a clip captured by live streamer TheBurntPeanut, the developers explicitly admitted, "We are dick heads" via the server announcements tab in response to the backlash.[68]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Jeong, Jaihoon "Laffa" (June 7, 2026). "No Battle Royale or Extraction, Just Large-Scale Modern Warfare: 'Wardogs' Beta Testers Wanted". InvenGlobal. Archived from the original on September 16, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  2. ↑ "5 reasons WARDOGS isn't your typical FPS". PC Gamer. September 14, 2026. Archived from the original on September 17, 2026. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  3. ↑ Park, Morgan (September 14, 2026). "Wardogs players are actively avoiding one team in particular: 'They are literally the dumbest people on the planet'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 15, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  4. ↑ Onder, Cade (September 14, 2026). "Wardogs Players Are Divided Over the Game's Factions As Blue Team Gets Reputation for Having the Worst Players". IGN. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  5. ↑ Saed, Sherif (August 11, 2026). "Much-wishlisted 100-player shooter Wardogs gets an early access release date, invites anyone unhappy with the closed beta to claim a refund". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Wolens, Joshua (June 7, 2026). "Wardogs looks like Battlefield with a persistent economy, and I'm fascinated by the consequences". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  7. ↑ Hernandez, Patricia (August 12, 2026). "Steam 'Dad Shooter' Explodes in Popularity After Devs Urge Fans Not to Buy It". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Park, Morgan (August 11, 2026). "Believe the hype for Wardogs, possibly the next great multiplayer FPS". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 26, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  9. ↑ Onder, Cade (August 10, 2026). "Wardogs 'Hits Different' and Could Be the Next Big FPS, Those Who Managed to Get Into the Recent Private Playtest Say". IGN. Archived from the original on August 25, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  10. ↑ Marr, Brian (August 24, 2026). "WARDOGS Could Actually Be The Call of Duty Killer". Men's Journal. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  11. ↑ Franey, Joel (August 26, 2026). "Wardogs is coming to early access very soon, and you can pre-order this gigantic 100-player online FPS right now". GamesRadar+. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Chandler, Sam (September 7, 2026). "Wardogs made me realize I want base building in my Battlefield". Shacknews. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  13. ↑ Zack; Rothery, Jen; Harvey, Angie (September 4, 2026). "How to Use Towers - WARDOGS Guide". IGN. Archived from the original on September 11, 2026. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  14. 1 2 Martin, Sean (September 11, 2026). "Bribing medics to revive me first in Wardogs is one of my favorite shooter mechanics in ages". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 12, 2026. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  15. ↑ Wardogs - Official King of The Hill Game Mode Explained Video (Video). March 4, 2026. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved September 16, 2026 – via IGN.
  16. ↑ Harris, Iain (June 6, 2026). "Large-scale FPS Wardogs takes all the right notes from a popular Arma 3 King of the Hill mod, and you can sign up for the playtest now". GamesRadar+. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ Chivers, Joe (September 15, 2026). "Wardogs feels like Call of Duty without the pressure to kill or be killed – as long as you're making phat stacks". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 16, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  18. ↑ MattGhostie (July 20, 2026). "WARDOGS Explained: Release Date, Platforms, and Gameplay for Bulkhead's Three-Team Shooter". Life is a Game Magazine. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  19. ↑ Romano, Sal (February 5, 2026). "'Tactical all-out warfare first-person shooter' WARDOGS announced for PC". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  20. 1 2 3 Kelly, Paul (August 11, 2026). "Wardogs is a brilliant exercise in greed as teamwork". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  21. ↑ Park, Morgan (September 17, 2026). "Wardogs is the only FPS where I actually expect to get revived". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 17, 2026. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  22. ↑ Robinson, Craig (April 7, 2026). "WARDOGS is bringing back a wager-like feature from Black Ops as part of its meta game systems". The Escapist. Archived from the original on September 4, 2026. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  23. ↑ James, Ford (June 30, 2026). "Wardogs CEO has an unconventional plan to deal with cheaters". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 8, 2026. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
  24. ↑ Robinson, Craig (February 12, 2026). "WARDOGS reveals no battle passes or Nicki Minaj skins as 100-player FPS hits 100K wishlists". The Escapist. Archived from the original on March 18, 2026. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  25. ↑ McDowell, Erik (August 30, 2026). "WARDOGS Preview: Devourer of Weekends". CGMagazine. Archived from the original on August 31, 2026. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  26. 1 2 Forbes-Calvin, Alex (March 25, 2026). ""They wouldn't look at any game that was less than £50 million" Why Tencent's all-in strategy didn't suit Bulkhead". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  27. ↑ Dring, Christopher (September 15, 2026). "The shooter that Tencent abandoned: Wardogs hits 2m sales in one weekend". The Game Business. Archived from the original on September 15, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  28. ↑ Forbes-Calvin, Alex (December 11, 2025). "Tencent sells Battalion maker Bulkhead to newly-formed consortium backed by Team 17 owner". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on August 25, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  29. ↑ Karunakar, Varun. "WARDOGS Showcase Gives Insight Into Its Real-World Inspirations, Performance, and Challenges". GamingBolt. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  30. ↑ James, Ford (June 26, 2026). "Promising upcoming FPS is specifically 'made for dad gamers,' claims CEO". Polygon. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  31. ↑ Warren, Mark (February 5, 2026). "Arma 3's King of the Hill mod inspired the Battalion 1944 devs' new 100 player shooter, deploying in early access this year". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  32. ↑ Wardogs - Official Gameplay Trailer (Video). June 6, 2026. Archived from the original on August 25, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026 – via IGN.
  33. ↑ Chalk, Andy (June 6, 2026). "Wardogs is a '100% player driven' modern military shooter for up to 100 players that's 'not a battle royale' or an extraction shooter". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  34. ↑ Argüello, Diego (July 17, 2025). "Report: Wardogs developer Bulkhead is laying off workers". Game Developer. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  35. ↑ James, Ford (August 19, 2026). "FPS Games Are Finally Getting a Dedicated Showcase, and It's Massive". Polygon. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  36. ↑ Kupetsky, Noah (August 14, 2026). "WARDOGS Devs Are Working On Proton Support For The Game - Steam Deck HQ". Steam Deck HQ. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  37. ↑ Hashmi, Ali (August 18, 2026). "How to Get Access to the WARDOGS Closed Beta". Prima Games. Archived from the original on August 26, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  38. ↑ Kelly, Paul (August 18, 2026). "You can play new, realistic FPS Wardogs for free this weekend". PCGamesN. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  39. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (September 7, 2026). "BisectHosting will be a hosting partner for Wardogs as it launches into early access". GamesBeat. Archived from the original on September 7, 2026. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  40. ↑ Martin, Sean (September 9, 2026). "Here's the Wardogs release time for your region". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 13, 2026. Retrieved September 12, 2026.
  41. ↑ Onder, Cade (September 10, 2026). "'Still Has a Long Way to Go' — Wardogs Is Coming to Xbox and PS5, but It Will Be a While". IGN. Archived from the original on September 10, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
  42. ↑ Reid, Craig (September 10, 2026). "WARDOGS Is Coming To Xbox In 2028, And Is Available Today With Steam Early Access". Pure Xbox. Archived from the original on September 11, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
  43. ↑ James, Ford (September 10, 2026). "Steam's Chart-topping FPS Wardogs Finally Gets Official Console Release Window". Polygon. Retrieved September 12, 2026.
  44. ↑ "WARDOGS Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 25, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  45. ↑ "WARDOGS". OpenCritic. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  46. ↑ Stewart, Marcus. "Wardogs (Early Access)". Game Informer. Archived from the original on September 17, 2026. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  47. ↑ "Wardogs Community Reviews". IGN. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  48. ↑ Park, Morgan (August 11, 2026). "Hardcore FPS immediately becomes Steam top seller as devs list '10 reasons not to buy' it". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  49. ↑ Park, Morgan (August 21, 2026). "2 Steam top sellers, 2 simultaneous betas, 2 very different shooters: It's Wardogs & Modern Warfare weekend". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  50. ↑ Stuart, Keith (August 24, 2026). "'A cognitive cacophony': hands-on with the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 beta test". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 25, 2026.
  51. ↑ Koch, Cameron (August 13, 2026). "Shooter Climbing Steam Charts Lists 10 Reasons Not To Buy It". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 24, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  52. ↑ Wood, Austin (June 5, 2026). "FPS devs put two bullets in Steam's dumbest debate and move up Wardogs release date: "Player numbers will undoubtedly decline significantly," but that "will not deter us"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  53. ↑ Allsop, Ken (August 15, 2026). "New Battlefield rival Wardogs has captivated the Steam audience - but its early access might not be for you". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on August 25, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  54. ↑ Park, Morgan (August 24, 2026). "Nearly 500k players showed up for the Wardogs beta: 'The reaction from the FPS community has been insane'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 26, 2026. Retrieved August 24, 2026.
  55. ↑ Park, Morgan (September 4, 2026). "As Wardogs blows past 200k Steam concurrents, its developers are prepared for the day 'hype dies down'". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 8, 2026. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  56. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (September 10, 2026). "Wardogs hits a million copies sold as soon as it goes into early access". GamesBeat. Archived from the original on September 11, 2026. Retrieved September 10, 2026.
  57. ↑ Onder, Cade (September 10, 2026). "Wardogs Is Already a Huge Hit As It Sells a Million Copies and Blows Past 300k Concurrent Players on Launch Day". IGN. Retrieved September 14, 2026.
  58. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 16, 2026). "Wardogs Outpacing Arc Raiders and Helldivers 2 on Steam and Has Already Made More Money Than Marathon Across All Platforms to Date, Analysis Shows". IGN. Archived from the original on September 16, 2026. Retrieved September 16, 2026.
  59. ↑ Raisbeck, Alex. "Wardogs player numbers: Peak player count and copies sold | Radio Times". Radio Times. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  60. ↑ Aubrey, Dave (September 15, 2026). "In less than a week Wardogs sells 2 million copies and achieves over 400k concurrent players". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  61. ↑ Marr, Brian (September 17, 2026). "WARDOGS Tops Steam Sales Chart, Sells 2 Million Copies in Just 5 Days". Men’s Journal.
  62. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 15, 2026). "'We Made a Game We Wanted to Play With Friends' — Wardogs Sells 2 Million Copies in 5 Days as Early Access Shooter Blows Up on Steam". IGN. Archived from the original on September 15, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  63. ↑ James, Ford (September 17, 2026). "Wardogs Is Officially One of the Best FPS Games of the Decade". Polygon. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  64. ↑ Saed, Sherif (September 17, 2026). "Wardogs has already made more money than Marathon, and its Steam launch momentum is ahead of Arc Raiders and Helldivers 2". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 18, 2026. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  65. 1 2 Park, Morgan (September 10, 2026). "Wardogs servers go down as over 300,000 people rush to play on launch day [Update: I think we're back]". PC Gamer. Retrieved September 12, 2026.
  66. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (September 16, 2026). "Wardogs Outpacing Arc Raiders and Helldivers 2 on Steam and Has Already Made More Money Than Marathon Across All Platforms to Date, Analysis Shows". IGN. Archived from the original on September 16, 2026. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
  67. ↑ Bardhan, Ashley (September 14, 2026). "Wardogs devs are "d*** heads," according to Wardogs devs feeling sorry for prioritizing streamers in the FPS' giant queue". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 14, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
  68. ↑ McGlynn, Anthony (September 11, 2026). "New FPS Wardogs makes Steam explode with 340,000 peak players, then explodes on Steam after the servers break and negative reviews roll in". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 15, 2026. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
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