Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer admitted that Bulkhead misjudged the rollout of Wardogs Season 2, acknowledging that it’s clear recent progression changes let Steam users reach heavy battle tanks far too early [2]. The multiplayer tactical shooter launched its first seasonal reset on October 15, but quick level gains and faction bonuses created balance problems on Steam within forty-eight hours [1]. Instead of easing Wardogs players into fresh combat loops, the adjustments let veterans field tanks right away and disrupted early-season pacing [3].
Why Wardogs Season 2 Accelerated Tank Progression
Matches in Wardogs revolve around three factions with up to 100 players fighting for control zones on destructible PC battlefields. When Season 2 arrived on October 15, Bulkhead converted leftover player cash into Gold Bars and wiped account levels to give Steam users a fresh start, aiming to establish a slower, grounded opening phase for Wardogs matches, but it didn’t work out as planned. The plan failed [1].
However, Bulkhead had noticed that Wardogs players frequently stalled between levels 10 and 20 before unlocking essential class equipment during the previous season. To eliminate that barrier, Bulkhead slashed the experience needed for role level 20 from 250,000 XP down to 111,500 XP, which was a 55% reduction. Bulkhead also lowered the total experience required for level 50 from 1.5 million XP to 1.15 million XP. Several combat vehicles shifted to earlier tiers as well, with the T-72B3 tank moving to Driver level 20, the Flakpanzer Gepard arriving at level 25, and the SPH-2 dropping from Wardog level 90 down to Driver level 31. Because these unlock requirements fell so steeply, dedicated Wardogs groups earned heavy armor in just two evenings [1].
Season 2 also introduced rainy weather that muffled footsteps and reduced visibility for aircraft pilots, but progression balance remained the main debate among Wardogs fans. In an October 17 statement, Bulkhead said it “sped up progression deliberately and tried to balance the game better, as set out in the patch notes, but it was the wrong call”. The seasonal reset lost its impact within forty-eight hours [1].
Blue Team Bonuses and the Driver Exploit
Beyond altering the experience curve, Bulkhead introduced faction perks to help Lonestar, commonly known as Blue Team. Lonestar had suffered from a poor win rate on Steam, so Bulkhead gave Blue players 5% extra cash and 2.5% bonus XP to encourage participation [2]. That incentive backfired quickly. Experienced Wardogs squads jumped to Blue Team to grind currency, turning Lonestar into an overwhelming force that won almost every match [3]. Confronting the issue directly, Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer said, “We were wrong, we f***ed up” [2].
“This was an experiment — we thought we’d have this in for about a week,” Brammer said, explaining that Bulkhead pulled the cash and XP perks in an immediate hotfix. Brammer rejected community claims that Bulkhead ignored fundamental team balance, emphasizing that designers had already overhauled spawn coordinates across Bakurani. He said Bulkhead should have relied on those Bakurani map adjustments alone, acknowledging that the Lonestar bonuses didn’t produce fair matches [2].
A separate bug involving the Driver role created even deeper progression problems on Steam servers. Wardogs players realized that placing a forward operating base (FOB) right beside a combat objective let drivers accumulate class XP through rapid round trips. Because the Soviet-style T-72 tank was cheap and unlocked early, exploiters fielded heavy vehicles before infantry classes could access anti-tank rocket launchers. Bulkhead pushed a backend update to block the tactic, but by then hundreds of drivers had already pulled ahead of intended early-season pacing [3].
Limited Mode Servers for Casual Play
Bulkhead cracked down on players who abused the base trick, issuing temporary 24-hour bans to repeat offenders. Brammer said this penalty targeted less than a thousand people out of hundreds of thousands who logged into Wardogs since Season 2 began. Bulkhead selected brief suspensions because it wasn’t trying to alienate early access testers permanently [3].
To give Wardogs players relief from heavy armor, Bulkhead scheduled update 0.25. That mid-season patch introduces limited mode servers that impose lower equipment caps to recreate early-game skirmishes on Steam. Under these server rules, participants can’t equip level-four armor, while heavy combat vehicles like main battle tanks and artillery pieces are removed from rotation. “All that stuff is going to be capped out of the game so you can continue to play level-two armor, have fun around that space,” Brammer said. That format ensures infantry firefights stay competitive without constant tank shelling [3].
These restricted lobbies give Wardogs squads an alternative while Bulkhead rebalances broader progression curves. UX Director Howard Philpott also shared one lighthearted note for Lonestar loyalists, confirming that players will keep Lonestar’s Eiffel 65 cassette tape on the soundtrack. That cosmetic touch will remain untouched through upcoming balance patches [3].
Bulkhead Rejects Wardogs Season 2 Wipe Demands
Some Wardogs players demanded a full database wipe to strip away ill-gotten tanks, but Bulkhead ruled out wiping server progress again over the weekend because erasing accounts would unfairly penalize people who earned ranks legitimately. Brammer argued that another wipe wouldn’t be fair and would break prior promises regarding early access progression [1].
Instead of resetting accounts, Bulkhead is targeting specific balance outliers while watching how Wardogs matches develop on Steam. Bulkhead may also pull Season 3 content forward if matchmaking remains uneven, though it hasn’t committed to a firm release date [1]. Brammer conceded that Bulkhead made an error in judgment: “This was a mistake, this one was probably us being a bit boneheaded.” He said Bulkhead accepted that its initial vision failed and began changing course [3]. A developer vlog scheduled for next week will detail the revised progression curves [1].
These growing pains follow a turbulent period for the British studio. Wardogs experienced launch server queues and rapid sales when it debuted on PC in August, which forced Bulkhead programmers to scramble to keep up with server traffic. Navigating rapid player growth while maintaining game balance has tested internal workflows, echoing topics from the earlier studio crunch debate that surrounded Bulkhead management [2].
Console Plans for Full Launch
While PC players adapt to Season 2 changes, console owners continue asking when Wardogs will arrive on PlayStation and Xbox hardware [2]. The title remains exclusive to PC via Steam during its early access run. Bulkhead and publisher Team17 haven’t committed to console dates, confirming that ports will arrive only after the 1.0 PC release [1].
Bringing the massive shooter to consoles brings technical demands that already influenced development decisions at Bulkhead. Bulkhead admitted that it had to hold back certain game features to ensure Wardogs runs reliably on Xbox Series S when the full version launches. Ensuring steady performance across diverse console hardware while refining early access systems on PC takes considerable engineering effort, prompting Brammer and his team to nail down core gunplay before expanding onto additional platforms. That approach protects future console players from early balancing missteps [2].
For now, Bulkhead remains focused on stabilizing Wardogs Season 2 through quick patches and mid-season server adjustments [3]. Bulkhead proved willing to reverse experimental features within forty-eight hours when community sentiment turned against them [2]. As update 0.25 approaches, Steam audiences assess whether limited mode servers restore the methodical pace that made Wardogs popular [3].
- ONLINE NEWS Acharya, R. (2026, October 17). WARDOGS Admits Defeat Over Season 2 Changes. DualShockers. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS McKeand, K. (2026, October 16). ‘This Is Us Holding Our Hands Up’ — Wardogs Developer Admits It ‘F***ed Up’ With Season 2 Launch. IGN. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Allsop, K. (2026, October 16). “We f***ed up:” Bulkhead admits Wardogs Season 2 “got a few things wrong”. PCGamesN. [Article Link]
