Wardogs Season 03 Starts in
The unofficial WARDOGS Countdown. BULKHEAD's CEO has set Season 3 for November 12, 2026. The launch hour hasn't been announced, so this counts down to 00:00 UTC (your local time). We'll update it as soon as the time is posted. Season 2's maintenance ran 08:00 to 09:30 UTC.
What we know about Season 3 ↓Official podcast
What's confirmed
- Date: Thursday, November 12, 2026. CEO Joe Brammer gave it in a Steam reply on October 23 and the team repeated it on episode 1 of its HotZone podcast
- Brought forward from a six-to-eight-week Season 2: BULKHEAD said players reached tier-four armor and MBTs within days, "so the wipe never really landed," and ruled out a mid-season reset in favor of an earlier Season 3
- Fresh economy reset: cash and levels go back to zero
- Limited Mode servers: replace low-level servers and remove power weapons, level 4 armor, infrared gear, and vehicles like tanks and artillery, while level 2 armor stays. The name isn't final ("primitive" is the other candidate)
- Progression rethink: the team plans to move away from Season 1's "heavy vertical progression" and fix the XP system players called broken in Season 2
- Gold skins will stay available longer to make up for the shorter Season 2
- Longer seasons: from Season 3 on, seasons should run about three months with a smaller update halfway through. "We can't do monthly seasons. We can't keep up," Brammer said
- December break: the whole studio is off for all of December, Brammer told Edge, so Season 3 gets under three weeks of live support first
- The Season 3 preview devlog planned for the last week of October was postponed so the team could "get the information right before committing to camera"
Not confirmed yet
- Start time and maintenance window (Season 2 went down from 08:00 to 09:30 UTC)
- Official patch notes: no new weapons, vehicles, or maps have been announced for Season 3
- Whether Limited Mode servers will be ready on day one or arrive later in the season
- Whether leftover cash converts to Gold Bars again, as it did in Season 2
- A new map with a multi-floor hospital, discussed on the podcast with no name or date
- Tank and infrared range finder changes: the team called 44% of players driving "unsustainable," but nothing is decided
Season timeline
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Season 1Early Access launch, September 10, 2026
Launched into Early Access on September 10, 2026, selling over 2 million copies and peaking at 400,000+ concurrent players within a week. Queue-skipping perks for streamers triggered a review-bomb backlash, and BULKHEAD has said the team was overwhelmed fighting cheaters and DDoS attacks in the weeks that followed. By early October, sales had passed 3 million copies, with Steam revenue estimated at over $100 million.
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Season 2October 15, 2026, Update 0.2.0
Went live with Update 0.2.0 after a maintenance window from 08:00 UTC, bringing a full progression wipe, four new weapons (TCX-SPR, PP-19 Bizon, Evo-3 Ultra, M14), four new vehicles (Wolf-110, armed Wolf-110, T-72B3, Flakpanzer Gepard), Molotov cocktails, new buildables, a Level 4 helmet revamp, and dynamic rain. A day later BULKHEAD admitted it "got a few things wrong": it removed the Lonestar team bonus (5% cash, 2.5% XP), slowed Driver levelling after a FOB exploit, and gave 24-hour bans to the worst abusers. With players reaching end-game gear within days, the studio cut the season to about four weeks.
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Season 3November 12, 2026, time not announced
See what's confirmed above: a fresh economy reset, Limited Mode servers, and a rethink of progression. It's the first of the longer, roughly three-month seasons, though the studio's December break comes less than three weeks in.
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Beyond Season 3Three-month seasons, Intel in Q2 2027
On the HotZone podcast the team said Intel, a seasonal resource earned daily and spent on the specific gear you want, "looks like Q2 next year." Skills, per-role trees with passive bonuses that persist across seasons, have no date yet. The full release is planned for 2028, alongside the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions.
Common questions
When does Season 3 start?
Thursday, November 12, 2026. CEO Joe Brammer gave the date in a Steam reply on October 23 and the team repeated it on its HotZone podcast. BULKHEAD hasn't posted a start time or maintenance window yet.
Does Season 3 wipe progress?
Yes. Season 3 brings a fresh economy reset: cash and levels go back to zero. In Season 2, leftover cash became Gold Bars, and Gold Bars plus their cosmetics carried over.
Who developed WARDOGS?
WARDOGS is made by BULKHEAD, an indie studio based in Derby, UK, also known for The Turing Test and Battalion 1944. It's published by Team17.
How long do seasons last?
Season 1 ran about a month and Season 2 about four weeks. From Season 3 on, BULKHEAD plans seasons of roughly three months with a smaller update halfway through.
Is WARDOGS free to play?
No, WARDOGS is a paid title on Steam Early Access, not free-to-play. Check the Steam store page for current pricing and editions.
How many players are in a WARDOGS match?
Up to 100 players split into three factions — Lonestar, Valkyra, and Manticore — of roughly 33 each, all fighting over a control zone on a large map.
Is WARDOGS coming to consoles?
Not yet. It's currently PC-only on Steam. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions have been reported for around 2028, but BULKHEAD hasn't given an official console release date.