BULKHEAD and publisher team17 have released season 2 for WARDOGS, marking the first major update for the hugely successful 100-player tactical FPS since its Steam Early Access debut last month.

Players can expect new firepower, fresh tactical opportunities and changes to core gameplay systems as BULKHEAD continues to develop WARDOGS alongside its growing community.

WARDOGS Season 2 Trailer

Season 2 brings a different kind of battlefield to WARDOGS. For the first time, players will have to contend with heavy rain and thunderstorms, changing how they approach engagements as visibility and sound become increasingly important. Thunder can temporarily mask footsteps, creating opportunities for coordinated assaults, flanking manoeuvres and unexpected encounters.

The update also brings four new weapons, four vehicles and three buildable structures to expand the tactical options available to players. These include the T-72B3 main battle tank, Flakpanzer Gepard anti-air vehicle and new defensive fortifications.

For players willing to take a gamble, the experimental Wager Vendor introduces an additional layer of risk and reward, allowing them to stake in-game cash on their own performance for the chance of bigger payouts.

However, Season 2 isn’t simply about adding more content. Following a month of watching how millions of players approach the game, BULKHEAD has made substantial changes to combat balance, progression, teamplay and faction dynamics.

One of the more unusual changes sees the studio actively encouraging players to join Lonestar, the underperforming blue faction, through exclusive cash and XP incentives. The initiative is part of BULKHEAD’s ongoing experimentation with the game’s three-faction warfare and the evolving strategies of its community.

WARDOGS is out now on Steam!

Throughout Season 2, BULKHEAD will introduce four new weapons, four new vehicles, three new buildables, a new weather preset and an experimental in-game wager system, alongside extensive changes to combat, building, progression and faction balance. The update marks the next step in BULKHEAD’s ongoing development of WARDOGS, building on player feedback and gameplay data gathered since launch.

WARDOGS Road to Season 02 Trailer

Players will have access to four new weapons, including the TCX-SPR Assault Rifle, M14 DMR, PP-19 Bizon SMG and Evo-3 Ultra LMG, supported by a range of new attachments. The vehicle roster also expands with the introduction of the Wolf-110, its armed assault variant, the T-72B3 main battle tank and the Flakpanzer Gepard anti-air vehicle. Three new buildable options, including an MG Nest, Large Shelter and Wooden Step, offer additional ways for players to fortify positions and defend key objectives.

Season 2 also introduces a new rain weather preset, bringing changing battlefield conditions that affect both visibility, engagement ranges and sound. Rain interacts with the environment, including damaged and destroyed structures, while thunder is synchronised across the server and can temporarily mask footsteps, creating new tactical opportunities during combat.

WARDOGS Season 2 launches October 15 on Steam, with further updates planned throughout Early Access.

The launch follows a huge response to WARDOGS’ pre-release tests, with nearly half a million unique players joining the August Closed Beta and the final pre-launch test peaking at 245,118 concurrent players on Steam. One reaction kept coming back: players hadn’t had this much fun in an FPS in years.

That feeling inspired the message behind today’s launch trailer, PLAY LIKE YOU USED TO. Paying homage to Halo 3’s iconic ‘Believe’ trailer, it celebrates an era when multiplayer games were social, unpredictable and impossible to put down.

WARDOGS Launch Trailer

WARDOGS aims to bring that feeling back through 100-player battles between three rival teams, combining tactical gunplay, vehicles, construction and destruction across three maps, each with three variations. Battles can shift from coordinated pushes to complete chaos in seconds, while local voice chat across all three teams brings allies and enemies into the same conversations, creating the unpredictable moments already driving thousands of clips, streams and videos from the community.

WARDOGS enters Early Access at $39.99 USD, with a stepped pricing model designed to reward players who join earlier in development rather than charging the planned full-release price before every major feature has been delivered.

WARDOGS is an All-Out Warfare FPS that combines tactical gunplay and combined arms combat with building and destruction mechanics in a large-scale, up to 100-player militaristic sandbox.

The game mode – Inspired by ‘King of the Hill’ – has three teams fight for control of randomized 2x2km ‘Control Zones’ within larger maps. The team with the most players within the Control Zone earns points – the first team to reach 100 points wins the match. The variables in zone location and individual player tactics mean no match ever plays out the same.

Watch the trailer HERE.

The new gameplay trailer gives players the clearest look yet at WARDOGS in action. Set around the high-stakes Control Zone, 100 players and three rival teams fight to dominate the battlefield. WARDOGS combines tactical gunplay, combined-arms combat, construction, destruction, and large-scale team play, creating a warzone where coordination matters, risk pays off, and cash is king.

The reveal comes as WARDOGS recently passed 500,000 Wishlist’s on Steam, a major milestone for the independent studio, offering a clear signal that players are hungry for a different kind of large-scale shooter.

Following recent hands-on playtests, BULKHEAD is opening sign-ups for the next WARDOGS playtest.

Players can sign up now at community.wardogs.com/signup/community.

For BULKHEAD, playtesting has never been a marketing beat with a feedback form bolted on. It’s a real opportunity for players to push the systems, expose the cracks, test the chaos, and help shape WARDOGS into the all-out warfare experience they have been asking for.

The WARDOGS party isn’t over yet. Head to WARDOGS.com now for an exclusive extended gameplay reveal stream with live footage taken during a team playtest earlier this week. Then, tune into the PC Gamer show tomorrow for a deeper look at what’s coming next.

WARDOGS arrives on Steam Early Access this summer and is available to Wishlist now.

WARDOGS is an All-Out Warfare FPS that combines tactical gunplay and combined arms combat with building and destruction mechanics in a large-scale, up to 100-player militaristic sandbox.

Cash persists from match to match, so spending big on better gear, equipment, or a vehicle at the right time has the potential to turn the tide of battle and could yield massive returns.