Wardogs Has A Massive Start On Steam, But Players Face Brutal Server Queues

Wardogs, a new military first-person shooter from developer Bulkhead and publisher Team 17, launched on Steam in Early Access today and achieved remarkable commercial success—but players immediately faced severe server infrastructure challenges.

The game sold over 1 million copies on its first day and reached 300,000+ peak concurrent players, becoming Steam’s #1 best-seller at $40. This blockbuster performance culminated months of anticipation: the game accumulated 1 million wishlists before launch, growing from 100,000 wishlists just three days after its reveal, to 500,000 by May, and the full 1 million by August.

However, the massive player influx exposed critical infrastructure limitations. Bulkhead implemented a server queue system that quickly became the subject of widespread social media mockery, with players reporting queues listing 300,000+ people ahead of them. Complete server outages followed as the system struggled to process demand, causing login errors and preventing access entirely.

The developer responded by taking servers offline to implement fixes and released a stability update requiring players to download a new Steam client. These efforts proved effective, with subsequent reports confirming many servers came back online and players successfully accessed matches.

Despite the launch turbulence, Wardogs’ Steam performance remained impressive, climbing to the fourth-most played game on the platform, behind only Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds.

Interestingly, Bulkhead had warned players not to purchase the game ahead of launch—an apparent attempt to temper demand expectations that proved prescient given the resulting server strain.

Wardogs Has A Massive Start On Steam, But Players Face Brutal Server Queues

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