WARDOGS Two Weeks In: Record Launch, Brutal Queues, and Where Early Access Goes From Here

WARDOGS had one of the wildest launches of the year. It went from a closed alpha in August to a top-selling game on Steam in about five weeks, crashed under its own weight on day one, got review bombed, and climbed back. Here's where things stand heading into Season 2.

The numbers

Launch day, September 10: peaked around 340,000 concurrent players on Steam.
The weekend after: multiple outlets report it pushed past 428,000 around September 14. Bulkhead thanked players for "400,000 concurrent players."
Sales: 1.25 million in the first 24 hours, 2 million announced September 15.
It held the number one bestseller spot on Steam for six days, launching the same day as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.
For a $39.99 Early Access game from a mid-size British studio, that's huge.

The queue disaster

Launch day was rough. Players reported queues with 135,000 to 300,000+ people ahead of them and multi-hour waits, and authentication errors kicked some people back to the end of the line. Some players were banned by mistake. People started calling it a "login queue simulator," and some accused streamers of getting priority. Team17's community manager said streamers weren't getting preferential access, it was "simply more visible."

Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer owned it: "I gotta take the L on this one guys, we've got it but it's on me." Part of the problem was Valve's rate limits on authentication, and Bulkhead worked with Valve to raise them to the level of bigger titles. A forced client hotfix on launch day fixed failed server joins, mid-match kicks and queue delays, and players were let back in in batches.

The review rollercoaster

Steam reviews dropped to Mixed during the queue mess. Different outlets caught it anywhere from 45 to 66 percent positive at the low point. Once people could actually play, it bounced back to Very Positive within days, around 84 percent by September 13.

As of this week, the Steam store page shows Very Positive (83%), while the all-languages review count sits closer to Mostly Positive (about 78%). Either way, the people who got in mostly like it.

Patches since launch

September 9, the Season 1 changelog:

Leveling was slowed down on purpose. Level 20 now takes 124 percent more XP, around 20 to 25 hours for most players.
The economy was repriced: the Forward Operating Base went from $2,500 to $7,500, and the Large Hammer unlock from $25,000 to $75,000.
The Z20 Lakota helicopter replaced the UH-1Y, and helicopter turret rotation was capped.
Voice chat, crash and exploit fixes, plus a weighted report system and server-wide cheater ban announcements.
September 10, launch day: stability hotfix for joins, kicks and queues.

Patch 0.11, around September 12 to 14:

The server browser now splits Community and Official servers, and community server IDs stick.
Community servers got a 5 percent cash bonus for a week.
New economy abuse rules: timed bans plus a cash and XP wipe for exploiters, permanent bans for advertising exploits or XP farming.
Cash exploits and GPU crashes fixed.
More server capacity in Asia.
We haven't found a numbered patch since 0.11 as of September 26.

Known issues

Cheating is the big one. Reports of wallhacks and recoil scripts picked up around September 21. Bulkhead says flagged players get removed within minutes of multiple reports. Players also hit anti-cheat and Secure Boot errors on some setups. The anti-cheat is kernel level.

The price is going up, on purpose

Brammer laid out the plan in a Gamescom interview with GamesRadar+: $39.99 now, $49.99 at about 12 months, $59.99 at about 24 months when it leaves Early Access. On X he said the first bump lands in September 2027.

His exact words: "our price needs to go up to make this game sustainable... if you don't agree with that, please don't buy it." That line got plenty of pushback.

The upside: no battle pass, no pay to win, and no microtransactions during Early Access.

What's coming

Season 2 starts October 15. It's teased to include weather effects and possibly a new map based on a real location. Remember that at the season reset, your cash converts into Gold Bars.
Early Access runs about one to two years. The roadmap lists more maps, weapons and vehicles, including fighter jets, deeper progression, a seasonal meta game and better support and logistics.
Consoles: PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are planned for 2028.
Linux and Proton support is in development.
One expectation check: a Bulkhead devlog in August said only one new map is planned for all of Early Access, and players "should not expect regular content drops." The focus is systems, balance and fixes.

Maps right now

Two confirmed playable maps, both 16 by 16 kilometers: Bakurani, a river valley with a factory district, and Ozeti, a hill town with a football stadium. A third map, Zestafona, was announced, but we couldn't confirm it's in rotation yet.

Our take

The launch was a mess and Bulkhead said so. The game underneath is good: weighty gunplay, a zone fight that rewards real teamwork, and an economy that makes every push matter. Watch how they handle cheaters and the Season 2 reset. If you're on the fence, it's cheapest right now.

By CNC Gaming

Sources: GameSpot: massive start, brutal queues; GamesRadar+: 340,000 peak and review bombing; Dexerto: review bombed; GameWatcher: server problems; TheGamer: review bombed over queues; Shane the Gamer: reviews flip to Very Positive; iXBT: 428k players; Shacknews: Season 1 changelog; WARDOGS Hub patch notes; GamesRadar+: price increase; GamingBolt: up to $59.99; Notebookcheck: cheaters; GameDropDaily updates; GameWatcher: maps; WARDOGS on Steam.