Wardogs servers go down as over 300,000 people rush to play on launch day [Update]

Wardogs, a 100-player military simulation FPS released today in early access, became Steam’s top global seller within hours, peaking at over 300,000 concurrent players. The sudden surge in demand overwhelmed servers, causing login errors and forcing developer Bulkhead to take services offline entirely to address the issue. Players attempting to access the game were met with error messages or placed in extended login queues, disrupting the launch experience despite multiple closed betas leading up to release.

Bulkhead acknowledged the disruption in a post on X, stating they were actively working to restore access and apologizing for the inconvenience. The company attributed part of the problem to being rate-limited by Valve, noting it lacked the infrastructure of a triple-A studio. CEO Joe Brammer advised players to remain in the queue rather than leaving, emphasizing ongoing efforts to resolve the technical limitations.

An update released by Bulkhead required players to download a new Steam client, which logged out all in-game users and placed them in server queues upon re-entry. Despite the update, many players continued to encounter login errors, prompting Bulkhead to reassure users that services would return “shortly.” The developer cited an issue that had not appeared during prior beta tests as the cause of the instability.

The Wardogs account on X confirmed that servers were being restored in phases to ensure stability, though players should expect prolonged wait times even after services resume. Bulkhead emphasized that the problem stemmed from unprecedented demand rather than a flaw in the game itself, and reiterated its commitment to resolving the technical challenges as quickly as possible.