WARDOGS, the large-scale tactical shooter from developer BULKHEAD and publisher Team17, has come out of its closed beta with real momentum, reportedly pulling in more than 100,000 players.
For the uninitiated, WARDOGS is an "all-out warfare" shooter built around matches of up to 100 players, but with a twist most big-lobby shooters don't share: those players are split across three competing teams rather than the usual two. Its main mode, Control Zone, plays like a large-scale King of the Hill, with the three factions - Valkyra, Lonestar and Manticore - scrapping over a randomised zone inside a much bigger battlefield.
It leans on a few systems that set it apart, too. Rather than fixed classes, you buy your own loadout from a persistent cash economy that carries between matches, so deciding when to save and when to splurge becomes part of the game. Add drivable vehicles and aircraft, base building and large-scale destruction across an Eastern European sandbox, and you've got a shooter chasing tactical depth over run-and-gun chaos. We've broken down exactly how it all works in our full WARDOGS beta guide.
The closed beta itself ran from 21 to 24 August on Steam, open to anyone who pre-ordered or landed a Request Access invite - the first proper hands-on with those chaotic three-way battles.
As for what's next, WARDOGS heads to Steam Early Access on 10 September 2026, where the core 100-player, three-team mode arrives alongside cash and XP progression, vehicles, logistics, proximity voice chat and dynamic objectives. A six-figure beta turnout gives BULKHEAD plenty of feedback to build on before then.
If those beta numbers are anything to go by, WARDOGS is shaping up to be one to watch when it rolls out next month.
