Unofficial reference · Early Access
WARDOGS, with the receipts
A 100-player, 3-team shooter whose launch build carries a balance pass published the evening before unlock. Anything written about WARDOGS before that patch describes a different balance, and none of it could be checked against the game itself. This site says where every claim came from and when.
Looking for the Jonah Hill film? That is a different thing entirely. This site is only about the shooter from BULKHEAD and Team17.
10 Sept 2026, 16:00 UTC
Steam’s own app_release_date for appid 1867240 is unix 1789056000, which is this instant. Everything below is derived from it.
Converted to six regions below.
| Where | Local unlock time |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Thu 10 Sept, 09:00 |
| New York | Thu 10 Sept, 12:00 |
| London | Thu 10 Sept, 17:00 |
| Berlin | Thu 10 Sept, 18:00 |
| Tokyo | Fri 11 Sept, 01:00 |
| Sydney | Fri 11 Sept, 02:00 |
Where you can play it, and where the studio has only named a year
Four of these rows are easy to get wrong in both directions at once, because the studio’s console answer is a year, which is neither a release date nor a refusal. Rather than characterise what anyone else has written, here is the record itself.
| Platform | Status | What BULKHEAD or Team17 actually said |
|---|---|---|
| PC (Windows) | Playable now | “OS: Windows 10 … OS: Windows 11”WARDOGS Steam store page |
| PlayStation 5 | Planned for 2028 | “Coming to consoles in 2028.”Steam announcement — WARDOGS Launch Trailer |
| Xbox Series X|S | Planned for 2028 | “Coming to consoles in 2028.”Steam announcement — WARDOGS Launch Trailer |
| Linux / Proton | Ruled out for now | “We cannot commit to having Linux support for our Early Access launch. So please, refund the game if you mistakenly bought it thinking you would be able to run Linux via Proton…”Steam discussions — UPDATE: Linux Compatibility |
| Steam Deck | Ruled out for now | “We cannot commit to having Linux support for our Early Access launch. So please, refund the game if you mistakenly bought it thinking you would be able to run Linux via Proton…”Steam discussions — UPDATE: Linux Compatibility |
| macOS | Not addressed | Nothing on the record either way. |
| Crossplay & cross-progression | Not addressed | Nothing on the record either way. |
The two rows with the least intuitive answers are Linux and Proton, where the studio told buyers to refund, and crossplay, which the studio has never described.
Five things to settle before you launch it
Unlock time
The exact instant, read out of Steam's own release field and converted across time zones.
Price
Two editions $10 apart, and the monetisation promise that comes with them.
Will it run
Minimum and recommended, with the resolution and frame rate each tier claims.
Anti-cheat
What the Secure Boot statement actually says, and what the store page leaves out.
Platforms
7 rows, each carrying the studio's own words and the day it said them.
Everything on the record, by topic
Platform board
PC now, consoles put in 2028 with no day given, and Proton support not committed for the Early Access launch.
Before you buy
Unlock time, the two editions, what Early Access contains, and the hardware floor.
How a match works
Control Zone scoring, the cash economy, the progression tracks and the factions.
Cost and unlock planner
Launch-build prices and XP bands, each beside the beta value it replaced.
Anti-cheat and Secure Boot
A conditional Secure Boot statement, and a kernel-level anti-cheat the store page names as Elytra.
Patch timeline
What shipped, when, and which pages each change touches.
Since the build unlocked
- Servers and the login queue
- Map size and the Control Zone
- Vehicles and their prices
- Flying, and what it costs
- Settings and frame rate
- Error codes and crashes
- Weapons, and what each one costs
- Loadouts the guides argue about
- Levelling each role fast
- Building a FOB
- Mortar range from coordinates
- Playing with friends
- Every default key
- WARDOGS vs Battlefield 6
- WARDOGS vs Arma and King of the Hill
- FPS on real PCs
- All 10 achievements
- Towers and the Hot Zone code
- Controller support
- Refunds and the two-hour rule
- What Early Access includes
- Consoles in 2028
The numbers that changed the night before launch
The Season 1 changelog went out hours before the build unlocked, and it moved the parts people plan around: the level curve was flattened, two of the biggest unlocks were pushed up their tracks, and 14 vendor prices were rewritten. Any guide written earlier is describing a different game.
111,500 → 250,000
XP to reach it after the Season 1 pass.
Artillery TankCareer 90
Where it sits now. Heavy Tank moved to Driver 35.
Starting cash10,000
And it carries between matches.
Match target100 points
3 teams, one zone.
The first two figures come from the launch-day balance pass; published in Steam announcement — Pre-Load Live & Season 1 Changelog. The second two describe systems set out months earlier and unchanged since; described in Steam announcement — TOP QUESTIONS.
From the patch timeline
Three million copies sold
The studio said WARDOGS had sold three million copies in just over two weeks since Early Access launched, and thanked players for the support. It also said the game had been nominated for the Golden Joystick Awards' Best Early Access Game category, a community-voted award, and posted a second round of community highlight clips from players' matches. On what comes next, it said the team is working on Season 2 and beyond, with more information due the following week.
Season 2 date: 15 October 2026
A short teaser post gives the first hard date for Season 2: 15 October 2026, with more details still to come. This is also, by the site's own reset rule, the first confirmed date for the Season 1 reset itself, since a season ends when the next one begins. The post does not spell that out and gives no other specifics.
Two million copies sold
The studio thanked players and said WARDOGS had sold two million copies, calling it a huge launch weekend. The post carries a snapshot of totals from that weekend: 123 million kills, 33 million of them headshots, 63 million kills on spotted targets, 61 million revives, 28 million heals, 5 million tower captures, 52 million dropoffs, 112 million tips, 1.3 trillion in cash earned and 562 billion spent. It also breaks earned XP down by role, and notes that the game awards role XP for the items you use rather than for a class you pick: support 21 percent, infantry and medic 20 percent each, recon 19 percent, driver 11 percent and pilot 9 percent.
What is WARDOGS?
A tactical shooter from BULKHEAD, published by Team17. 100 players split across 3 teams fight to hold a 2×2 km zone drawn at random inside a 256 km² map, and the first team to 100 points wins.
Kit is bought rather than issued: cash earned in the zone pays for weapons, gear and vehicles, and the balance stays on your account between matches. Your role is whatever you buy, and XP accrues across 6 progression tracks. More on scoring, the economy and the factions.
Described in Steam announcement — TOP QUESTIONS
- Developer
- BULKHEAD
- Publisher
- Team17
- Platform
- PC (Windows)
- Price
- $39.99
- Languages
- 14
- Per match
- 100 players
Store facts listed on WARDOGS Steam store page
Quick answers
When does WARDOGS unlock?
Steam's own release field puts the Early Access unlock at 16:00 UTC on 10 September 2026. That is the store's value for the app, not a third-party estimate. Converted to your time zone
Is WARDOGS on PS5 or Xbox?
Not at launch. The Early Access build is Windows only. BULKHEAD has said it is coming to Xbox and PlayStation, the launch trailer put consoles in 2028, and both console stores now have pages for it. No day has been given. The studio's exact words
Does WARDOGS require Secure Boot?
The studio's rules page says Secure Boot and TPM are not currently required to play online, and that it would give notice before requiring them. Separately, it reserves the right to require Secure Boot from accounts linked to cheaters. What was and was not said
Is WARDOGS on Game Pass?
No. It is not in the PC or console Game Pass catalogue. An Xbox store page exists for the console version, with no date or price, and the PC build is sold on Steam. What Microsoft's lists show
Does cash carry over between matches?
Yes. The cash balance is account-level, so a bad match costs you kit but does not reset you. You start with $10,000. How the economy works
Does WARDOGS wipe progress?
Yes, at the end of each season. Cash and XP reset, leftover cash is converted into Gold Bars, and Gold Bars and cosmetics stay on the account. What resets and what stays
Is this about the film War Dogs?
No. This site covers only the shooter from BULKHEAD and Team17, not the Jonah Hill and Miles Teller film. About this site
Check the record before you buy
Platforms, price, anti-cheat and the hardware floor, each with the studio’s own words attached.