Wardogs

WARDOGS is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter from BULKHEAD, published by Team17, that entered Steam Early Access on 10 September 2026. Rather than presenting a scripted campaign, it builds its identity around a player-driven battlefield: one hundred players are divided into three teams and sent into large, destructible maps set among the derelict industrial mountains of Eastern Europe. Its central mode is inspired by King of the Hill. Each match generates a randomized two-by-two-kilometre Control Zone within the wider map, and the team with the strongest presence inside that zone scores toward the 100 points needed to win.

The game’s most distinctive verified feature is its cash economy. Every player begins their career with $10,000, then buys a custom loadout for each life, choosing weapons, gear, utility items, and vehicles rather than accepting a fixed class. Cash and XP are awarded for concrete team actions, including reviving squadmates, transporting friendly players to the zone, and holding the objective. Money persists between matches, so a player’s decision to spend cheaply, save for later, or risk an expensive vehicle can affect future sessions as well as the current fight.

WARDOGS also makes support roles unusually explicit. Players can chase a Hot Zone for double cash, purchase a ghillie suit and snipe from range, fly teammates or supplies by helicopter, build and defend a forward operating base at a chokepoint, or use an artillery tank to damage enemy positions. The battlefield supports both construction and destruction: apartment blocks can be hit with rocket launchers, towns can be torn through by heavily armoured tanks, and fortifications can create tactical advantages. Local voice chat is part of the intended experience, supporting both squad coordination and chaotic proximity encounters with enemies.

BULKHEAD’s Early Access notes describe the current version as fully playable but still evolving. The studio says it expects Early Access to last roughly one to two years, with feedback gathered through Steam, Discord, X, YouTube, playtests, and gameplay data. Planned additions include more maps, weapons, vehicles, objective variations, deeper progression, a stronger seasonal metagame, and future vehicle types such as fighter jets. On Steam, WARDOGS is categorized as Action, Indie, Massively Multiplayer, Simulation, and Early Access, with Online PvP, Steam Achievements, Family Sharing, English audio, interface localization across fourteen languages, and a mature-content warning for killing with weapons and melee combat. Unlike a battle royale or extraction shooter, it is profit-driven combined-arms control-zone warfare.