WARDOGS: Hyped Battlefield rival launches second beta – here’s how to get access

At first glance, WARDOGS resembles Battlefield with its large-scale 100-player battles, but it uses an unusual three-team system. In addition to infantry combat, there are vehicles, destructible environments and base building, which are intended to make matches considerably more tactical than in a traditional arcade shooter. Shortly before its Early Access launch on September 10, the multiplayer shooter is heading into another round of testing. The second closed beta starts today, September 3, at 8:00 PM German time and runs until September 6.

While the first beta in August already attracted hundreds of thousands of players and revealed numerous technical issues, this time the main focus will be a large-scale server stress test. Developer BULKHEAD specifically wants to get as many players as possible onto the battlefields of WARDOGS at the same time. Among other things, the test will cover server scaling, login queues, the server browser, voice chat, Twitch Drops and DLC entitlements.

BULKHEAD's decision to test the limits of its systems once again is likely also related to the huge turnout during the first test. In its recap of the first beta phase, the developer itself speaks of an enormous response from the FPS community. According to SteamDB, the game is already on the wishlists of more than 130,000 players.

Guaranteed access for pre-order customers, everyone else has to hope

Anyone who has pre-ordered WARDOGS on Steam is guaranteed access to the closed beta. Pre-order customers currently pay around $40 on Steam. The Supporter Edition, which includes various additional cosmetic items, is available for around $50. Everyone else can request access to the playtest through the Steam page. However, BULKHEAD is granting access to these participants gradually in waves, meaning an invitation is not guaranteed.