WARDOGS Closed Beta 02 is scheduled to begin on September 3, 2026, following The FPS Games Show, and continue through Sunday morning UTC. That gives BULKHEAD one more demanding test before the tactical shooter enters Steam Early Access on September 10, but access still will not be open to everyone.
Pre-order customers are guaranteed entry. Everyone else can request access through Steam Playtest, with invitations sent in waves and no guarantee of a spot.
What Closed Beta 02 will test
The staged rollout is meant to expose problems that only appear when the player count rises. BULKHEAD has named server scaling and browsing, Twitch Drops, DLC entitlements, VOIP, and the login queue as key areas for the test, with the server browser facing a particularly specific challenge. The team wants to see how it handles more than 100,000 players using it at the same time.
A targeted browser test should reveal more than simply filling a login queue, since it can help isolate failures in browsing and connected services instead of treating every problem as one blunt access bottleneck. Those systems support access, content ownership, communication, and large player loads, so Closed Beta 02 has a job beyond letting players try WARDOGS again.
The first beta drew nearly 500,000 individual players and passed 100,000 concurrent players on Steam, according to GameRant’s report. That test ran during the same week as a Call of Duty beta and a major Battlefield 6 update. BULKHEAD also says WARDOGS has crossed 1 million Steam wishlists, which helps explain why the next test is being treated as a capacity exercise rather than an unrestricted invitation.
What a WARDOGS match looks like
WARDOGS is built around 100-player battles in a 256-square-kilometre sandbox. Three teams compete for a randomized 2-by-2-kilometre Control Zone, with the first team to reach 100 points taking the match. Tactical gunplay is paired with building, destruction, and vehicles that include tanks and helicopters.
Its economy adds a longer-term layer to each fight. Every player starts with $10,000, then spends cash on weapons, gear, utility, and vehicles with each life. Reviving squadmates, transporting players to the zone, and holding the objective earn more money. Cash carries from match to match, so buying a tank or helicopter can affect more than one round.
Early Access plans
The game takes place in a fictional setting inspired by modern-day Georgia. BULKHEAD is developing WARDOGS, with Team17 publishing it, and the base edition is available to pre-order for $39.99. The studio is targeting 12 to 24 months in Early Access before a full release, depending on player feedback. Steam Early Access is scheduled for September 10, as outlined in the previously announced launch schedule.
The FPS Games Show still has another reveal
BULKHEAD had planned to reveal the beta during The FPS Games Show but announced its access window early. One planned reveal is therefore no longer being saved for the broadcast, although the team said the September 3 show will still feature a separate major announcement and has not disclosed what it will be.
The FPS Games Show is scheduled for September 3, 2026, at 18:00 UTC, 2 p.m. EDT, or 7 p.m. BST, with the broadcast planned for Twitch.
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Wardogs
Developed by Bulkhead
