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Wardogs beta release
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
WARDOGS second closed beta hit 162,488 concurrent Steam players on day one.
The surge signals strong demand ahead of the September 10 Early Access launch.
Background
WARDOGS is a 100-player tactical FPS developed by Bulkhead and published by Team17. It had a successful first closed beta in August, which peaked over 100,000 concurrent players. The second closed beta, running September 3-6, is a stress test before the game enters Steam Early Access on September 10. The game has surpassed a million wishlists on Steam, indicating high anticipation.
How it unfolded
- Aug 2026First closed beta held, peaking over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam.
- Sep 1, 2026Bulkhead announced a second closed beta starting September 3, ahead of the FPS Games Show.
- Sep 2, 2026Over 30,000 people lined up 24 hours early to play the beta; developer responded 'YOU PEOPLE ARE CRAZY'.
- Sep 3, 2026Second closed beta began at 7pm UTC, immediately after the FPS Games Show.
- Sep 4, 2026Beta hit a daily peak of 162,488 concurrent players on Steam, ranking 3rd overall.
- Sep 6, 2026Second closed beta ended at 8am UTC.
- Sep 10, 2026WARDOGS is scheduled to launch into Steam Early Access at $39.99.
Who’s saying what
- Developer
- Bulkhead is treating the beta as a stress test, daring players to 'obliterate our servers' to prepare for launch.
- Players
- Players showed extreme enthusiasm, with 30,000 lining up early and over 160,000 concurrent players on day one.
- Analysts
- The high concurrent player count indicates strong demand, but the game is PC-only and has limited content at launch.
Still unverified
The 'huge announcement' at the FPS Games Show has not been revealed; its content is unknown.