War Dogs Hits Steam Playtest September 11, But Are 100-Player Battles Enough?

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WARDOGS, the 100-player tactical FPS from BULKHEAD and publisher Team17, will launch in Steam Early Access in the early hours of September 11, 2026, the two companies announced. Pre-orders are open now, and every Steam pre-order guarantees access to a closed beta weekend running from August 21 to August 23, 2026.

The basic pitch is clear, though BULKHEAD is not pretending the game itself will be simple. WARDOGS splits 100 players into three opposing teams fighting over high-risk control zones, grabbing cash, and trying to bank that money safely before the fight turns against them.

This is not a standard point-capture shooter. Infantry, tanks, helicopters, construction, destruction, and large-scale team play are all part of the same battlefield. Deaths, vehicle purchases, travel, and tactical decisions have consequences, and those consequences are reflected directly in the player's account balance.

That account balance matters. In-game cash determines how much risk a player can afford, what equipment and vehicles they can use, and how badly failure will sting. The result sounds less like a disposable match and more like one where every decision can hit the player's balance.

One of the more distinctive systems is local voice chat across all three teams. Allies may bargain on the fly, enemies may interrupt or mislead each other, and encounters can turn social as quickly as they turn violent. That could create messy, player-made moments, but it also means WARDOGS may be noisy, stressful, and demanding for players who just want a quiet, short session.

At Early Access launch, players will fight across three maps, each with three different variants, built around combined infantry and vehicle combat. The game has already passed 800,000 Steam wishlists, a sign that plenty of players are at least curious enough to track its development.

BULKHEAD is also being unusually direct about the caveats. The studio released a new video listing 10 reasons why WARDOGS may not be for everyone, covering Early Access content, price, performance, monetization, controller support, and the consequences created by player decisions.

That caveat-heavy messaging is important, because this is still an Early Access release. The closed beta weekend from August 21 to August 23, 2026 will let pre-order players try the game before the Early Access launch and help test large-scale battlefields, servers, and core systems.

BULKHEAD CEO Joe Brammer said opening pre-orders for an Early Access game is uncommon, but the team wants pre-order players to enter the closed beta and judge the game's condition for themselves. He also said WARDOGS is highly ambitious and still has plenty of rough edges, and said the team will listen to players while taking the risks it believes are necessary.

The Early Access version will cost $39.99, a meaningful price for an unfinished game. BULKHEAD says it will use a tiered pricing model to reward players who support the game early in development, and that it will not charge the future full 1.0 price before major features are finished.

During Early Access, the development team will prioritize stability, performance, balance, bug fixes, and major issues raised through community feedback. BULKHEAD will also continue building the long-term progression, out-of-match systems, and broader long-term gameplay planned for the 1.0 release.

On monetization, BULKHEAD is being more specific. WARDOGS will not add any in-game monetization during Early Access, with the only exception being an optional supporter edition that includes some cosmetic items. In-game cash, gold bars, and identity- or status-based camouflage will not be available for paid purchase.

BULKHEAD is a Derby, UK-based developer focused on FPS games. Founded in 2015 by a small group of friends, the studio previously developed The Turing Test and Battalion 1944. A new consortium formed by SMG, everplay, and Hiro Capital recently acquired BULKHEAD from Tencent.

WARDOGS is published by Team17, which was founded in 1990 and now operates as a game developer, publishing label, and creative partner for developers under everplay Group plc. Team17 currently has a portfolio of more than 140 games, including owned brands such as Hell Let Loose, Golf With Your Friends, The Escapists, and Worms, alongside partner titles including Date Everything, Dredge, and the Overcooked! series.

For players deciding whether to pre-order, the practical read is simple. Players who like large-scale tactical battlefields in the vein of Hell Let Loose, and who can tolerate performance swings while a game is still being built, should use the beta before making a final call. Players looking for something light to play for ten or fifteen minutes a day are better off waiting, because $39.99 is currently buying access to a long-term project still being built.