Wardogs’ Season 3 will launch on 12th November, complete with a new urban map, a new Limited Mode, and a ban wave targeting 185,000 accounts.
Developer Bulkhead confirmed the details earlier this week, revealing plans for a full wipe and progression changes that it hopes will “recapture the shared discovery and sense of achievement that defined” the 100-player tactical shooter when it first launched in Early Access.
Wardogs – Official ‘Road to Season 3’ Behind the Scenes Video.Watch on YouTube
The new map will focus on close-quarters fighting, and for a “more level playing field”, players can dip into Limited Mode, which offers “an alternative way to experience” the game as it restricts weapons, ammunition, armour, and vehicles.
While the full list of restrictions is still being decided, it currently includes FMJ-only ammunition, a Tier 2 armour cap, and a reduced attack vehicle selection.
“The mode is designed to preserve the feel of early-to-mid-game combat and reduce the advantage offered by more powerful equipment,” the team said.
Bulkhead also confirmed seasons are getting longer. From now on, they’ll last three months, giving players “more time to work towards their goals before each wipe and the development team more time to prepare future updates”. Progression will also be “brought closer to the pace of Season 1”, following the studio’s acknowledgement that Season 2 accelerated “the journey too aggressively”.
“Season 3 is about giving players a new battlefield to learn together and a progression journey worth spending time on,” said Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer. “Longer seasons give everyone more room to reach their own goals, and give us the time to properly develop what comes next.”
Alongside Season 3, Bulkhead revealed it has used machine learning to review is “activating further layers of its anti-cheat” after analysing 187 million hours of gameplay with help from machine learning. It says having close to four million unique players since launch gave it enough data to pull that work forward from next year.
“[E]xploiters, real-money traders, and gold-farming networks” have been permanently banned and lost their server-hosting privileges, and a player trust score is planned for 2027.
“Protecting the people who play Wardogs fairly is essential to everything we’re building,” Brammer added.
Bigger changes to the metagame, including a new progression system, are also due in 2027 as Bulkhead works towards Wardogs 1.0. Full Season 3 patch notes will be out before launch.
Wardogs launched in Steam Early Access on 10th September, and is due on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2028.
Wardogs is one of the breakout successes of the year. In our early access Wardogs review, we said the game’s mix of competitive shooters’ best bits with something entirely of its own made it “a brilliantly refreshing take on the genre”.