WARDOGS Early Access Countdown

The timeline

Milestone	When	Who got in
Reveal	2026	Everyone — announcement and trailer
Closed Alpha	Early August 2026	Invited testers
Closed Beta Weekend	21-23 August 2026	Anyone who pre-purchased on Steam
Steam Early Access	10 September 2026	Everyone who buys
1.0 release	Not announced	—

BULKHEAD expects to spend 12 to 24 months in Early Access, with the exact length driven by player feedback.

What unlocks on the day

• Three maps, three variations each — infantry and vehicle combat throughout
• The three-team, 100-player Control Zone format on a 256km2 map
• Vehicles: ATVs, APCs, tanks, helicopters and civilian vehicles; fighter jets are planned during Early Access, not at launch
• Building and destruction via the War Dynamics Framework
• The persistent cash economy — $10,000 starting balance, cash carried between matches
• Proximity voice chat across all three teams, server browser matchmaking, ghillie suits

What it costs

Edition	USD	GBP	EUR
Standard	$39.99	GBP 36.99	EUR 39.99
Supporter	$49.99	GBP 45.99	EUR 49.99

The Supporter Edition adds cosmetics only: three weapon camos, a helicopter camo, a scoreboard icon and bobbleheads. BULKHEAD has described a stepped pricing model that rewards earlier supporters, so the Early Access price is the low point rather than a discount.

Get ready before the clock runs out

1. Check your PC with the requirements checker — the 16 GB RAM floor is the most common blocker.
2. Free up 40 GB, ideally on an SSD.
3. Read the format, not just the marketing: the Control Zone guide explains why bodies in the square beat kills on the board.
4. Understand the money before you spend it — the cash economy guide covers what carries between matches.

Sources

• WARDOGS on Steam — release date, editions, pricing
• Team17 — WARDOGS reveal
• BULKHEAD — WARDOGS