A new contender is preparing to enter the large-scale multiplayer battlefield. Wardogs, an upcoming 100-player tactical warfare simulator, has already attracted a massive audience ahead of its Early Access release.
The game recently held a Steam playtest on August 21, and the numbers quickly became difficult to ignore. Within 48 hours, Wardogs reportedly peaked at more than 105,000 concurrent players. It has also surpassed one million Steam wishlists, giving the project considerable momentum before its September launch.
Those numbers become even more interesting when considering how the playtest was handled. Access primarily went to players who had already pre-ordered Wardogs, suggesting that at least part of its enormous playtest audience had already committed money to the game.
What Is Wardogs?
Wardogs is a tactical multiplayer warfare simulator built around battles involving up to 100 players.
Rather than trying to recreate the extremely fast pacing found in shooters such as Call of Duty, Wardogs takes a slower and more deliberate approach. Large maps, distant respawn locations and an emphasis on coordination mean players need to think about considerably more than simply chasing kills.
Players are divided into three squads, with each squad operating from its own base.
These bases play an important role throughout a match. Players can return to them to resupply and purchase equipment, including artillery and other battlefield resources.
However, equipment isn’t simply handed out.
Wardogs features an in-battle economy that rewards players for performing different roles and useful actions. Mercenaries, medics, logistics players and other specialists can contribute to the wider battle while earning resources that can subsequently be invested back into the fight.
That gives support-focused players a meaningful place on the battlefield rather than making raw kill counts the only measurement of success.
The Battlefield Doesn’t Stay Still
At the center of Wardogs is a moving action zone.
Teams must fight to capture and maintain control of this area as it shifts around the battlefield. The team that controls the objective for the greatest amount of time ultimately comes out on top.
The concept may sound familiar to anyone who has played King of the Hill in Arma 3 or Hardpoint in Call of Duty, but Wardogs appears to approach the formula from a much more tactical direction.
Getting killed can carry significantly greater consequences when the nearest respawn point is far away. Moving across a large battlefield also means there may be periods where very little happens before everything suddenly erupts.
That slower pacing will not appeal to everyone, but it could become one of Wardogs’ biggest strengths.
Instead of attempting to directly compete with Call of Duty or Battlefield at their own game, Wardogs appears comfortable occupying the space between traditional multiplayer shooters and more demanding military simulators.
Matches Could Become Highly Unpredictable
The sandbox nature of Wardogs could also prevent matches from following exactly the same pattern every time.
Players need to react to the location of the action zone, available resources, enemy movements and the condition of their own squad.
A coordinated logistics operation could prove just as valuable as an aggressive assault. Artillery could change the situation around an objective, while medics may keep an important push alive long enough to secure control.
Because of those interconnected systems, Wardogs has the potential to generate the type of unscripted multiplayer moments that have kept games such as Arma popular for years.
Match lengths can also vary depending on how the battle develops.
More Than 105,000 Players Is A Serious Early Signal
Gameplay concepts are one thing. Getting players interested in them is another.
Wardogs appears to have already cleared that first major hurdle.
Surpassing 105,000 concurrent players during a pre-release playtest is an impressive result for a new multiplayer IP. Crossing the one-million-wishlist milestone provides another indication that interest extends well beyond a short burst of attention surrounding the test.
Wishlists obviously don’t guarantee sales, and playtest numbers don’t automatically translate into a sustainable player population after release.
Still, Wardogs is entering Early Access with something many multiplayer games struggle to establish: a substantial audience that already knows it exists.
That matters enormously for a game built around 100-player battles.
Wardogs Launches Into Early Access September 10
Wardogs is currently scheduled to launch through Steam Early Access on September 10 for $39.99.
The developers expect Early Access to last approximately 24 months, although development schedules can naturally change.
Once the game reaches its full release, the planned price will increase to $59.99.
Bulkhead has also taken an unusually direct approach toward Early Access monetization. The studio says it does not intend to introduce additional Early Access monetization and has reminded players that pre-orders can be refunded.
“We just want to remind everyone that you can refund pre-orders…”
That attitude could prove important for a project asking players to invest in what may become a two-year Early Access development process.
Rather than immediately building additional monetization systems around an unfinished game, the initial focus appears to be on developing Wardogs itself.
Wardogs Could Be An Important Game For Bulkhead
There is another reason Wardogs’ early performance deserves attention.
For Bulkhead, this game represents an opportunity to move beyond the difficulties surrounding Battalion 1944.
Battalion 1944 arrived with considerable expectations but ultimately struggled to maintain the audience necessary to establish itself as the competitive shooter its developers had envisioned.
Wardogs is a very different proposition.
Instead of another tightly controlled competitive FPS, Bulkhead is building something larger, slower and considerably more dependent on battlefield coordination and player-created situations.
The early numbers suggest players are willing to give the studio another opportunity.
More than 105,000 concurrent playtest players and one million wishlists don’t guarantee that Wardogs will succeed. Server stability, balancing, progression, content updates and long-term player retention will ultimately decide that.
But they do provide Bulkhead with an exceptionally strong starting position.
Wardogs Is One To Watch
The multiplayer shooter market isn’t exactly short on competition.
Call of Duty continues to dominate the faster end of the spectrum, Battlefield occupies the large-scale mainstream battlefield, while games such as Arma cater to players looking for substantially more simulation.
Wardogs could potentially carve out its own position somewhere between them.
Its 100-player battles provide scale. Its economy and role systems encourage teamwork. Its moving objectives keep squads from simply camping one position indefinitely, while the slower pacing gives individual decisions considerably more weight.
Most importantly, players already appear interested.
When Wardogs enters Early Access on September 10, the biggest question won’t be whether Bulkhead can attract an audience.
It will be whether Wardogs can keep the enormous audience that has already shown up.
