Tactical Shooter WARDOGS Breaks Into Steam Top 3 With 220,000 Concurrent Players and Three-Faction Battles

A closed playtest for WARDOGS, a large-scale military shooter from British studio BULKHEAD and publisher Team17, has sparked huge interest on Steam. On September 5, peak concurrent players for the test client neared 220,000. On Steam’s official charts, the title briefly reached third place by active player count, behind only Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.

100-Player Battles and Three-Faction Warfare

In concept, WARDOGS resembles a hybrid of Battlefield and tactical shooter Squad, though the developers avoid battle royale elements and extraction mechanics. Instead, the core gameplay focuses on classic total warfare across large destructible maps.

The main feature of matches is the participation of up to 100 players, split into three opposing factions. Teams battle over randomly spawning control points, with victory going to the side that reaches 100 hold points first. The game offers broad specialization options: while infantry engages in urban firefights, allies can build forward supply bases, drop assault troops from helicopters, fire heavy artillery, or push flanks in tanks. Performing useful team actions earns money, which carries over between matches and can be spent on modules, weapons, and vehicles.

Playtest Details and Early Access Release Date

Interest in the game emerged even before netcode was enabled. As reported by PC Gamer, over 30,000 players entered the available offline shooting range a full day before the beta launched to pass the time in line. The game has already been wishlisted over one million times on Steam.

The test is not an entirely free public demo: players who pre-ordered for $39.99 received instant server access, while for everyone else, the “Request Access” button on the WARDOGS Steam page hands out invites in waves to stress-test the servers. Testing will conclude on September 6 at 08:00 UTC.

Following the test, the shooter will launch in Early Access on September 10 rather than seeing a full release. The BULKHEAD team plans to refine the project in Early Access over the course of one to two years, promising to expand the map, add full-fledged jet fighters, and deepen the progression system.

最大“100人”対戦FPS『WARDOGS』プレイテスト版の同接数が「21万人」を突破し大盛況。開始からわずか1日でお祭り騒ぎhttps://t.co/zBtQrvvGzn

「稼いだ資金で戦い方を買う」戦場に、硝煙に惹かれた危険な奴らが集う。戦車で挑むも分隊として活躍するも自由。なかには、ひたすら心肺蘇生するヒーローも pic.twitter.com/6sGhaWmTpZ

— 電ファミニコゲーマー (@denfaminicogame) September 5, 2026