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4 sources Sep 12 Updated

WARDOGS Sales Pass 1.5 Million After Chaotic Early Access Launch

BULKHEAD announced that its 100-player military sandbox shooter WARDOGS has passed 1.5 million copies sold, three days after the game entered Steam early access on September 11.

Reporting from 4 sources: Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.

Why it matters

A studio that shipped a chaotic, partly broken launch is publishing the internal footage itself, turning a rough early access debut into a marketing asset while the sales curve keeps climbing.

WARDOGS Sales Pass 1.5 Million After Chaotic Early Access Launch

Key Facts

  • BULKHEAD announced that WARDOGS sales have surpassed 1.5 million copies.
  • WARDOGS launched in early access on Steam on September 11, 2026, priced at 4,980 yen including tax.
  • WARDOGS hit a peak concurrent player count of 428,666 on Steam on September 13, 2026, according to SteamDB.
  • BULKHEAD released a 'Launch Day Recap' video on YouTube on September 12, 2026, showing login queues and erroneous bans issued to alpha testers.
  • WARDOGS is scheduled for release on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2028.

The studio also published a launch day recap video on YouTube on September 12 showing the behind-the-scenes scramble: login queues that the team feared would not clear in time, staff working until 2:00 AM local time to stabilize servers, and erroneous bans handed to alpha testers. CEO Joe Brammer addressed the queue skip system, saying some streamers were allowed to use it because they promote the game, and that he understands why it feels unfair. The game previously crossed 1 million copies on launch day and hit 1.25 million by around 10:00 AM the same September 11.

WARDOGS runs matches of up to 100 players split into three teams fighting over capture zones on maps spanning 256 square kilometers, with building and destruction mechanics and a fund system that carries currency between matches. The peak concurrent player count on Steam hit 428,666 on September 13, according to the unofficial SteamDB tracking site, up from the roughly 340,000 recorded at the early access launch. The game costs 4,980 yen including tax on Steam. BULKHEAD and publisher Team17 have said PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are planned for 2028.

The recap video is the part the three sources dwell on. It captures the moment the team realized the login queue had to be cleared immediately or the launch would collapse, and the tension when alpha testers were banned by mistake. Brammer's explanation of the streamer queue skip is the cluster's one point of friction: he acknowledges the fairness complaint, and the sources leave it there rather than defending or condemning the practice.

Written with AI by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited. See our editorial policy.

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