Public timeline only

Update 0.1.2 — WD-L020 and cash exploits

On 30 September the studio posted minor patch Update 0.1.2 and a maintenance window from 08:00 UTC, about one hour, with services offline while it deploys. That hour is the deploy. We will not write 'servers are up' from it.

In its own words the studio is aiming at XP and cash exploits and at the WD-L020 crash after Windows 11 update KB5124010. If that error is yours, take the Steam update before the crash order. Revives are checked on the server, vehicle fly-through rewards are capped, destroying a buildable pays by how far it was built, and a pallet in a FOB outside the zone pays less. People caught abusing cash, XP, or real-money trading had cash and progression reset, and the studio says the early leniency is over.

Deploy now asks you to pick Official, Community, Infantry Mode, or Low-Level. The studio calls Season 02 a larger content update — new map conditions, equipment, balance — and says more detail next week. We are not dating that week.

Studio post → · Counter → · WD-L020 / crash →

3 million copies and a Golden Joystick nomination

A little over two weeks into Early Access the studio posted 3 million copies sold and a Golden Joystick Awards nomination for Best Early Access Game 2026. The vote is the community's, not our counter. In the same post they said the hype will not last. We are not turning that into a sales chart of our own.

Studio post →

Launch Stability Hotfix #1 — queue and waves

On Early Access day the studio posted Launch Stability Hotfix #1 on Steam. Its words: a small client update is meant to address being unable to join, unexpected kicks, and a long login queue. Everyone already in-game was logged out.

The order in the post: close WARDOGS, take the Steam update, launch again — everyone returns to the login queue. Then the studio lets people in in controlled batches and says it will raise the batches as people start getting in. That is not a green light. We will not write 'servers are up' from this.

Studio post → · Counter → · Crash / will not launch → · Diary →

Closed Beta 02 closed 6 September 08:00 UTC

The Steam pre-order window ran: access from 3 September 18:00 UTC to 6 September 08:00 UTC. The studio's wording was a 'genuine scale test'. Playtest waves without a pre-order never promised a slot. Next is Early Access on 10 September.

The beta ran in the same hour as The FPS Games Show. The first beta already showed a queue at the door can be a backend bug, not dead match servers. We keep that counter for 10 September.

Steam storefront → · Window archive → · 10 September → · Crash →

The FPS Games Show on 3 September — studio major announcement

This is no longer just a slot in a showcase. In the pre-order block on its Steam page the studio wrote it plainly: if you are deciding to pre-order now, make sure you watch The FPS Games Show live on Twitch on 3 September at 18:00 UTC for a 'major announcement that you will not want to miss'. That wording is theirs, not ours. What will be announced is not stated on the page, and we are not going to guess.

The only scheduled event between the beta and Early Access — and Bulkhead itself is running it. The showcase is pre-recorded and streams exclusively on Twitch: 19:00 BST, 20:00 CEST, 14:00 EDT. Sixteen games are on the bill, WARDOGS among them, alongside Rainbow Six Siege, Escape from Tarkov, Ready or Not and Gray Zone Warfare. The organisers state there are no paid slots in the show.

The date sits exactly one week before Early Access, so this is the last window in which the studio can show anything before it sells. Steam is running a parallel event page with discounts, demos and free weekends for some of the line-up. WARDOGS is on that page — the storefront now carries a 'part of a sale event' badge. That is event membership, not a cut from $39.99.

twitch.tv/thefpsgamesshow · What 10 September is →

Beta recap: nearly 500,000 uniques, 4% refunds

After the window the studio posted a video, 'Beta Recap & Next Steps'. In their own words: nearly half a million unique players over the weekend and a concurrent peak just over 100,000 — the same week as a Call of Duty beta and a large Battlefield patch. Refunds after the beta: about 4%. Those figures are the studio's, from that video, not a client dump of ours.

They walked through the opening queue themselves: a Twitch-drops and DLC grant bug on the backend left thousands waiting. Drops were switched off so people could get into a match. Some of the team went to Gamescom; the rest are on the builds before Early Access. The same call again: 3 September, 18:00 UTC, The FPS Games Show — a 'massive announcement'. What it is, still unsaid.

Recap on YouTube → · Price and refunds → · Crash on launch →

Studio asks you to watch '10 Reasons NOT to Buy WARDOGS'

The pre-order block on the store page was rewritten after the beta. The studio thanks everyone who pre-ordered for access, then addresses those who missed it: before deciding, watch players' first-impressions videos on YouTube and our own dev vlog, '10 Reasons NOT to Buy WARDOGS'.

A developer who, inside the sales block, points you at other people's impressions and at its own list of reasons not to buy is a rare thing. It is the same line as before: the studio said itself that refunding after the beta is fine, and that pre-orders also help it size server capacity per region. We are not going to retell the video: watch the original and decide for yourself.

Price and refunds → · Monetisation →

Beta servers went dark at 02:00 UTC

The window closed on schedule, one continuous stretch from 21 August. The storefront labelled the beta 21–23 August, but that is a calendar label rather than the last second of uptime: in Britain and further east the same moment was already Monday.

The separate WARDOGS Playtest app may still sit in your Steam library. That is not an open server: the client no longer reaches live matches. The studio still invites refunds from anyone who pre-ordered for the beta and changed their mind. The client next wakes on 10 September.

Diary → · Price and refunds →

Closed Beta window: servers from 17:00 UTC

The studio's public window: 21 August 17:00 UTC to 24 August 02:00 UTC. After it closes there is a pause until Early Access on 10 September. Not an endless CBT.

Diary → · Beta archive → · Checklist →

Closed Beta NDA lifted

Official WARDOGS account: NDA is lifted. Stream, post clips, tag the studio. That is not a licence to rip assets — only your own beta footage.

Official X →

1 million Steam wishlists

The studio publicly thanked players for one million wishlists. The 11 August press note still said 800,000 — the figure moved in three days.

Three commitments on monetisation

The studio published its position as a standalone block: no monetisation during Early Access, cash and gold bars earned only through play, camos never sold directly. The single exception is the cosmetic Supporter Edition. The same text says monetisation does arrive after 1.0, because servers and anti-cheat cost money continuously.

Monetisation breakdown →

Beta and Early Access dated

Team17 / Bulkhead: pre-orders live, calendar weekend 21–23 August, servers 21 Aug 17:00 UTC to 24 Aug 02:00 UTC. EA 10 September, entry $39.99.

Date breakdown →

Reveal and wishlist

Public trailer and Steam page. The formula: 100 players, three teams, cash, industrial mountains.