Wardogs takes Steam by storm: 2.2 million in one week, ahead of ARC Raiders

Just seven days ago, Wardogs was a large-scale war shooter that only those who had played its betas were talking about. Today it is the talk of the genre. As reported by Vandal, the title from BULKHEAD passed 2 million copies sold in less than a week since arriving in Steam Early Access on September 10, and estimates from analyst Rhys Elliott of Alinea Analytics already put it at around 2.2 million.

What matters is not just the number, but what it is being compared to. Elliott lined that opening up against the launches of two of the most celebrated shooters of recent years, ARC Raiders (1.7 million) and Helldivers 2 (1 million), and Wardogs beats both in its launch window. On top of that, again according to the figures published by Vandal, over this period it would have earned more than Bungie's Marathon, released in March, across all of its platforms. A game with no marketing campaign eating into the territory of the big brands is exactly the kind of story we want to follow closely at Underworld Lordz.

What you need to know

• Wardogs launched on September 10 in Steam Early Access and has already passed 2 million copies; Alinea Analytics estimates around 2.2 million.
• In its launch window it is selling faster than ARC Raiders (1.7 million) and Helldivers 2 (1 million).
• It would have generated more revenue than Bungie's Marathon across all platforms since the latter launched in March.
• It has done so with almost no promotion beyond its beta phases, and at a price Vandal describes as very attractive.
• The game will come to PS5 and Xbox Series later on, so the player base still has room to grow.

From Tencent to Team17: an unconventional road

The success of Wardogs has a curious backstory. BULKHEAD's project was initially unveiled under the Tencent umbrella, but after disagreements between the two parties, it was Team17 that ended up taking it on. A game switching publishers midway is usually a sign of trouble; here, by contrast, the result has been a launch that has caught half the industry off guard.

The other factor is its visibility strategy, or rather the lack of one. Wardogs has not had an advertising campaign comparable to that of other seasonal shooters: its showcase has been the open betas, and from there word of mouth and content creators have done the rest. Add a modest entry price and you have the recipe for an Early Access phenomenon that, for now, lives only on PC.

The numbers side by side

These are the figures compared by Alinea Analytics and reported by Vandal, all referring to each game's launch window:

It is worth remembering that Helldivers 2 and ARC Raiders went on to be sustained successes for months. A bigger opening guarantees nothing: what Wardogs has right now is an opportunity, not a race already won.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz editorial team we view this launch with enthusiasm, but also with caution. For the competitive community, the upside is obvious: a huge player base from day one means full matches, fast lobbies and, if BULKHEAD and Team17 play their cards right, an ecosystem where tournaments and amateur leagues could appear very soon. For content creators, Wardogs is an audience magnet right now: everyone is talking about the game and there is still no established streaming scene occupying that space.

What worries us is the usual issue with Early Access phenomena. Selling 2 million copies in a week puts brutal pressure on a studio that, until recently, was operating without a fixed publisher. Servers, anti-cheat and the update cadence are going to be the real test, and that is where many shooters with spectacular openings have fizzled out. Vandal itself also stresses that the medium- and long-term trajectory remains to be seen; we would add that a total-war shooter with massive matches needs very fine balancing so that the competitive scene does not fall apart with the first poorly tuned patch.

Even so, we are glad to see a game with this background outmuscle productions with far more marketing power. If BULKHEAD listens to the community and Team17 is in no rush to over-monetize, Wardogs could become the go-to shooter of this season, and the Underworld Lordz squad is already looking at how to organize its first game nights.

What do you think?

The debate is on: is Wardogs a hit with real staying power, or just this week's hype that will fade once the first server problems arrive? Tell us in the team chat or on our Discord if you are already playing it and how it compares for you to ARC Raiders or Helldivers 2.