- Surpassing 1 Million on Pre-Launch Wishlist… Attention Focused on Large-Scale Battles with 100 Participants
- 100,000 Wishlist entries in just 3 days… Recorded 350,000 concurrent users immediately after launch
- Hosting a $1 Million Clip Contest… Early Access Development with the Community
Wardogs, a 100-player tactical FPS by British developer Bulkhead and publisher Team17, has surpassed 1 million units in sales simultaneously with its Steam Early Access launch.
‘War Dogs’ is a multiplayer FPS where up to 100 players divided into three factions engage in large-scale battles on a single battlefield. It is characterized by large-scale battles featuring a changing battlefield environment and tactical gameplay.
This achievement is the result of the high level of interest that persisted even before the launch translating into actual sales. ‘War Dogs’ recorded 100,000 items on the Steam Wishlist just three days after its reveal, surpassed 500,000 in May, and exceeded 1 million in August.
100,000 Wishlist entries in 3 days of release, surpassed 1 million in one month
‘War Dogs’ garnered attention by rapidly building up wishlists immediately after its release. It recorded 100,000 within three days of its launch, followed by 500,000 in May and 1 million in August.
Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer expressed his gratitude to the community, stating that surpassing 1 million units in sales simultaneously with the early access launch was an unbelievable achievement.
In particular, the development team explained that they focused on candidly sharing the game’s strengths and weaknesses before its release. At one point, releasing “10 Reasons Not to Buy This Game” was also a choice made to prevent people from purchasing the game based on vague expectations.
CEO Joe Brammer stated, “As we are still in the early access stage, there are many things left to fix, improve, and build forward.”
Closed Beta with 450,000 Participants Causes Server Chaos on Launch Day
Many users also participated in pre-launch testing. Approximately 450,000 people participated in the closed beta held in August, and the final test just before launch recorded 245,118 concurrent users on Steam.
However, on the day of the Early Access launch, problems arose as more users than expected flocked to the site at once. Login queues lasting for hours and connection errors persisted, and as user complaints were reflected in Steam reviews, the rating temporarily dropped to ‘Mixed’.
Bulkhead resolved server issues through emergency client updates and phased access restrictions. As the connection environment stabilized, Steam user ratings rose again and currently stand at ‘Very Positive’.
Responding to the community with a $1 million clip contest
Bulkhead is also holding a ‘#WARDOGS100K’ clip contest to celebrate 1 million sales and thank the community.
We are accepting videos capturing a variety of scenes, ranging from the best plays to absurd mistakes and chaotic moments in the game. The best entry will receive $100,000 in cash, and the top 100 participants will each receive in-game currency worth $100,000.
‘War Dogs’ is the latest title from Bulkhead, founded in Derby, UK in 2015. Based on their experience developing ‘The Turing Test’ and ‘Battalion 1944’, the developer has taken on the challenge of a large-scale multiplayer FPS.
Bulkhead was recently reportedly acquired by Tencent from a consortium consisting of SMG, Everplay, and Hero Capital.
‘War Dogs’ is currently available in Early Access on PC (Steam), and PlayStation 5 and Xbox versions are scheduled for release in 2028. Wishlists for both console versions are currently available.
Information regarding ‘ WARDOGS ‘
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | BULKHEAD (UK Derby) |
| Publisher | Team17 |
| Genre | Tactical Massive FPS (Early Access) |
| platform | PC (Steam) — PS5 and Xbox are scheduled for release in 2028. |
| Release date | Steam Early Access launch on September 10, 2026 |
| language | Unidentified |
| Reactions/Evaluations | After a mixed evaluation due to server issues early in the launch, it rebounded very positively. 1 million copies sold, peak concurrent users recorded over 350,000 |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
