The Short Answer
Wardogs is live. Bulkhead's 100-player, three-faction tactical shooter launched into Early Access today on Steam, PC only, for $39.99 -- a $49.99 Supporter Edition adds cosmetics and nothing that touches gameplay. There is no beta code, key, or queue: it is an open purchase. Consoles are not part of this launch; the launch trailer puts them in 2028.
One thing up front: if you played a beta, your progress did not carry over. Launch is a clean slate for everyone.
What Wardogs Actually Is
Three rival factions, up to 100 players, fighting over randomized Control Zones with combined arms -- infantry, vehicles, and destructible, buildable terrain in the same fight. It is large-scale and objective-driven, not a round-based arena shooter.
The system that sets it apart is the economy. There are no fixed classes. You start with a one-time cash stake, and before every life you buy your loadout from a vendor -- your "class" is whatever you can afford that spawn. Cash persists between matches, and it is earned by playing the objective: revives, transport, spotting, and kills all pay, and the Hot Zone pays double. Thirty-seven weapons are confirmed in the launch arsenal, three of them free faction recruit rifles to get you started.
The Season 1 Launch State -- It Is Slower Than the Beta
This is the most important thing to know if the betas set your expectations: launch progression is slower, and Bulkhead says so directly. The betas were tuned for a weekend; Season 1 is tuned for a season.
- Bulkhead's stated pace: the median player reaches about level 20 in 20 to 25 hours; the top few percent grind well past that for the big-ticket unlocks.
- Every season runs its own XP curve and unlock order, so this is the Season 1 shape, not a permanent one.
- The economy and XP were retuned for launch. Confirmed Season 1 changes include a $7,500 FOB vendor, a roughly doubled level 10-to-20 XP requirement, and about a million total XP to reach level 50. Farming was reined in -- selling a cheap supply crate is now worth almost nothing.
- Heavy vehicles sit behind real gates: the Heavy Tank unlocks at Driver level 35, and the Artillery Tank far later at Career level 90.
None of that is a knock. It is a game built to be played across a season, not cleared in a weekend.
Anti-Cheat
Bulkhead broke its own "we don't talk about anti-cheat" habit for launch. The confirmed measures: cheater bans are posted publicly, and report weight is reduced for repeat and bad-faith reporters, so the report system is harder to abuse. The deeper technical details of the system have not been laid out, and we will not guess at them.
What's Confirmed vs. What You'll See In-Game
We ground launch coverage in what Bulkhead has actually confirmed and flag the rest honestly. Confirmed today: the price, the platform, the identity, the Season 1 progression and economy shape above, and the 37-weapon count. Still resolving as players get into the live game: the full named weapon table, the live vendor price of each gun, the Gold Bar conversion rate, and how the three factions settle out on day one. Those come clear the moment players are working the live vendor -- and we would rather point you to them then than guess now.
Bottom Line
Wardogs is out, it is $39.99 on Steam, it is PC-only, and it is a slower, season-tuned game than the beta was. Buy your loadout, play the objective, and expect to earn your heavy armor. The live details fill in fast from here.
Source: Bulkhead's Wardogs Steam store page and the official Season 1 changelog + launch trailer (2026-09-09).