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WARDOGS Closed Beta #2 starts September 3 — here are the exact times and how access works
WARDOGS is putting up to 100 players back on the battlefield before launch, but BULKHEAD deliberately refuses to turn its second beta into an unrestricted open test. Preorders get guaranteed admission, everyone else can request Steam Playtest access, and additional players will be introduced in controlled waves. One week before Early Access, the purpose is straightforward: increase population until parts of the infrastructure start to fail.
By Maëlle WARDOGS 
The beta begins September 3 at 18:00 UTC
BULKHEAD will start Closed Beta #2 on Thursday, September 3 at 18:00 UTC.
That is 20:00 CEST in France and much of central Europe, 19:00 BST in the UK and 2 PM EDT on the US East Coast.
The start time is deliberately aligned with The FPS Games Show.
Steam now lists September 6 as the closing date
The end time has generated some confusion because earlier store-page copies and community posts displayed September 5 at 08:00 UTC.
The live official Steam listing checked on September 2 now states September 6 at 08:00 UTC.
That newer first-party listing is the date this article uses.
For central Europe, the beta therefore closes Sunday, September 6 at 10:00 CEST.
The current window is approximately 62 hours.
Preordering provides guaranteed admission
BULKHEAD's clearest access route is the preorder.
Steam currently lists the standard edition at €39.99 and the Supporter Edition at €49.99.
The preorder offer explicitly states that buyers receive guaranteed Closed Beta #2 access.
There is no lottery attached to that group.
Steam Playtest offers a free route, but not a guaranteed one
Players who do not want to preorder can use the “Request Access” button for WARDOGS Playtest on Steam.
That request is free.
Acceptance is not guaranteed.
BULKHEAD says additional Playtest users will be admitted in waves as the beta progresses.
Steam notifies an account once access has been granted.
The studio has not announced a fixed number of free invitations for each wave.
Why not make it an open beta?
BULKHEAD has answered that question directly.
The team wants to raise player numbers incrementally so it can identify the population level at which specific systems start failing.
Opening the gates to everyone simultaneously would make that controlled scaling exercise much harder.
The restricted structure is therefore part of the stated testing methodology.
BULKHEAD is testing much more than match servers
The developer explicitly calls this a genuine scale test and says it wants players to break its systems.
Server scaling and server browsing are on the list.
So is the login queue, which matters when large numbers of players attempt to connect simultaneously.
VOIP is another named target, particularly relevant to a game built around local player communication.
BULKHEAD will also test Twitch Drops and DLC entitlements.
The beta is therefore stressing the service infrastructure around the match as much as the battlefield itself.
Each match can involve up to 100 players across three teams
WARDOGS' core mode divides up to 100 players between three factions.
They fight over a randomized 2 × 2km Control Zone located within a much larger map.
The team with the largest presence inside the zone scores points, with the first to 100 winning the match.
Vehicles, construction, destruction and a persistent cash system add further server and simulation demands.
Keeping one match alive is only part of the launch problem. BULKHEAD also needs enough instances, matchmaking infrastructure and supporting services to handle a sudden population spike.
This follows August's first closed beta
WARDOGS previously ran a closed beta from August 21 through August 23.
Preorders also guaranteed access to that test, while additional participants were gradually added through Steam Playtest.
Afterward, BULKHEAD described the turnout as extremely strong and pointed players toward another announcement scheduled for September 3.
Closed Beta #2 is the next large-scale test before Early Access.
The FPS Games Show starts at the same moment
BULKHEAD will appear at The FPS Games Show on September 3 at 18:00 UTC.
The closed beta announcement was originally intended to be part of that presentation, but the team chose to reveal it early.
The developer says another major WARDOGS announcement remains planned for the show.
Its subject has not been confirmed.
Claims about a new mode, platform or roadmap would therefore be speculation until BULKHEAD reveals it.
Only four days separate the current beta end from Early Access
With Steam currently listing a September 6 close, only four days remain before WARDOGS launches into Early Access on September 10.
BULKHEAD expects that Early Access period to last roughly one to two years.
The studio plans to use it for additional maps, weapons, vehicles, objective variations, deeper progression and seasonal systems alongside performance and stability work.
This is ultimately a rehearsal for launch-day pressure
A stress test one week before release is too late for a fundamental redesign of a multiplayer architecture.
It is still useful for exposing capacity thresholds, entitlement failures, queue problems and services that behave normally at five thousand players but collapse at ten thousand.
That is why BULKHEAD is controlling the population through invitation waves.
For players, the practical summary is simple: preorder for guaranteed access, request Steam Playtest access for a free but uncertain invitation, start playing September 3 at 18:00 UTC, and expect the test to close September 6 at 08:00 UTC according to the current official Steam listing.