BULKHEAD and Team17 have announced that WARDOGS will launch into Steam Early Access on 10 September 2026, with pre-orders available on Steam now.
Every player who pre-orders WARDOGS will receive guaranteed access to the upcoming Closed Beta Weekend, taking place from 21–23 August. The beta will give players the opportunity to experience the game ahead of its Early Access launch and put its large-scale warfare, servers and core systems through their paces.
Pre-order WARDOGS on Steam now:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1867240/WARDOGS/
To mark the announcement, BULKHEAD has also released a candid new video outlining 10 reasons NOT to buy WARDOGS, covering everything from Early Access content, pricing and performance to monetisation, controller support and the high-stakes consequences of every decision players make in-game.
WARDOGS has now passed 800,000 wishlists on Steam, building on the response to its recent gameplay reveals and closed testing weekends.
At the centre of WARDOGS is the high-stakes Control Zone, where 100 players split across three rival teams fight to take control, secure cash and survive long enough to bank it.
WARDOGS combines tactical gunplay, combined-arms combat, construction, destruction and large-scale team play. Every death, vehicle purchase, journey and decision has a consequence, with every outcome reflected in the player’s account balance.
Cash is not simply a score. It determines the risks players can take, the equipment and vehicles available to them and how much they stand to lose.
At Early Access launch, players will fight across three maps, each featuring three different variations, alongside a mix of infantry and vehicle combat. Local voice chat can also be heard across all three teams, creating unpredictable encounters between allies and enemies throughout each match.
“Taking pre-orders for an Early Access game is unusual, and we know some people will question it,” said Joe Brammer, CEO at BULKHEAD. “But WARDOGS has never been about playing it safe. Rather than asking players to take our word for it, every pre-order includes access to the Closed Beta, so they can get hands-on, see exactly where the game is today and make up their own minds. If they play it and decide it is not for them, that is completely fair.”
“WARDOGS is ambitious, rough around the edges and still has a long way to go, but that is exactly what Early Access should be. We are putting the game in players’ hands, listening to what they tell us and taking the risks needed to turn it into something that can last.”
WARDOGS will enter Early Access at $39.99 USD. Rather than charging the planned full-release price before every major feature has been delivered, BULKHEAD is introducing a stepped pricing model designed to reward players who support the game earlier in development.
During Early Access, the development team will prioritise stability, performance, balancing, bug fixes and the most important points raised by the community. BULKHEAD will also continue working towards the wider meta game and long-term systems planned for the full 1.0 release.
The studio has committed to having no in-game monetisation during Early Access, with the sole exception of an optional Supporters Edition containing cosmetic items for players who want to show additional support for the project. In-game cash, gold bars and status-based camouflage will not be available for purchase.
The Closed Beta Weekend begins on 21 August and concludes on 23 August. Access is guaranteed with every Steam pre-order.
WARDOGS launches into Steam Early Access on 10 September 2026.
