WARDOGS Region Lock: BULKHEAD Caps Ping at 175 to Stop Cheaters, and Not Everyone Is Happy

The WARDOGS region lock has begun. On the evening of October 21, 2026, BULKHEAD announced that official WARDOGS servers would drop to a maximum ping of 175, with proper region locking in progress behind the scenes. The reason is cheating: the studio says it wants to protect the largest group of players from "an influx of regions that are more prone to cheating."

It's a big call for one of the biggest shooters of the year. WARDOGS has sold more than 3 million copies since entering Steam Early Access on September 10, and it still had around 110,000 people playing when we checked on October 22. Here's exactly what BULKHEAD said, what changes when you join a server, and how players have reacted.

WARDOGS region lock at a glance

What did BULKHEAD announce?

In a post on the official WARDOGS X account, which had been viewed more than 1.4 million times by the next day, the team said it had "begun the process of controlling regions." The key points:

• Maximum ping drops to 175 on official servers, rolled out over a few hours.
• Region locking is being built on the backend. BULKHEAD says it's "more than a switch", so it will take time to have a real effect.
• The team will be "getting stricter on cross pollination of regions", meaning fewer players joining servers far from where they live.
• BULKHEAD admitted the change goes against the game's social focus, but said it "must prioritise the largest group of players over the minority."

The studio also apologized for letting things get this far. It explained that it had wanted to give players from every region a chance to play together, but that it "has not panned out" as hoped.

Which regions are affected?

BULKHEAD hasn't named any. The announcement talks only about "regions that are more prone to cheating", with no list and no cheating figures. Many players on Steam blame cheaters connecting from China and other parts of Asia, often with high ping. Treat that as what players are reporting, not as something BULKHEAD has confirmed.

In practice, a ping cap affects anyone who is a long way from the server they join, whatever their country. That's why players in places with fewer local servers, such as South Africa or South America, may notice it too.

How do the WARDOGS ping limits work?

The 175 cap builds on a system BULKHEAD added in the Season 2 update on October 15. At the time, the studio said the first limits would be "quite lenient" while it worked out the right numbers. The Season 2 patch notes explain how it works:

• Official servers enforce different maximum ping limits depending on their region.
• High ping kicks: players who stay above a server's limit over a sustained period are kicked automatically, so a short spike won't remove you.
• Lag spikes on the server's side don't count towards your ping.
• Rejoin restriction: if you're kicked for high ping, you can't rejoin that server until the next map.
• The server browser now shows each server's maximum ping and lets you filter by it.
• Community server admins can set their own ping limits, which allows cross-region play (or stricter rules) on their servers.

The October 21 announcement tightens that system to a 175 ping maximum on official servers.

What does the region lock mean for you?

• If you play on a server near you, nothing changes, and you should see fewer high-ping players in your matches.
• If your ping to a server is above 175 for a while, you'll be kicked and can't rejoin that server until the map changes. Use the server browser's ping filter to pick servers you can stay on.
• If you play with friends overseas, official servers will get harder. A community server whose admin allows higher ping is the way round it.
• If you live far from the main server regions, keep an eye on BULKHEAD's channels for any new server locations. The studio added extra server capacity in Asia in September after strong interest there.

Does WARDOGS have anti-cheat?

BULKHEAD doesn't say which anti-cheat it uses, and that's on purpose. In a September dev post, the team wrote that "you don't talk about anti-cheat" in game development. What it has shared publicly:

• Report players in game on official servers. Since September 9, reports are weighted so repeat and bad-faith reporters count for less.
• Cheater bans are announced in the server when match termination is turned off.
• Community servers are what BULKHEAD calls "the ultimate protection", because their admins can ban bad actors instantly.
• Economy exploits are bannable. Since September 12, abusing cash exploits has meant timed bans and a reset to $0 cash and 0 XP. Making videos that teach exploits without reporting them counts as advertising cheats and gets a permanent ban. On September 30 BULKHEAD ended its leniency: exploiters and anyone caught real-money trading now risk a permanent ban without warning.
• Team-kill voting (Season 2): when a teammate kills you, you choose Forgive or Punish, and repeat offenders get kicks and escalating bans.

How have WARDOGS players reacted?

Reaction is split. Many players welcome the change; others worry about friends overseas, players in smaller regions, and whether a ping cap actually stops cheaters. These are players' opinions, not verified facts:

• In the Steam discussion about the announcement, sgt.greywar simply wrote "Thank god", while Doomed said half the server having 200+ ping causes lag spikes and freezes.
• PoutineQuebecoise argued that cheating isn't limited to one place: "People will cheat on any region as long as there isn't enough friction to deter them."
• Bubble warned that cheaters can get round a ping cap with relay servers and proxies, and said the change hurts people with international friends.
• Solidmy started a thread arguing that a soft ping lock just pushes players into Southeast Asian servers instead.
• In recent Steam reviews, Alpaca Raider complained that EU Central servers are full of 150-ping players using wallhacks, and KeepCalmBruh said reports go unanswered. L Merchant warned the game "will fail as quickly as it succeeded" if cheating isn't fixed.
• On the other side, ZynPlayZ said the ping restrictions have ruined the game for South African players who rely on EU servers.

Some reviews about cheating use offensive language about players from particular countries. We've left those out. Cheating is a problem in every region, and the ping cap affects honest players far from a server too.

Why are WARDOGS reviews Mixed right now?

Cheating isn't the only complaint. WARDOGS sits at Mixed on Steam: 70% of 131,812 reviews are positive overall, but only 60% of the 44,095 reviews from the last 30 days. Most of the recent negative reviews are about Season 2, which launched on October 15 with a progression wipe:

• Lost Cause said players exploited XP on the first day, so matches were soon full of tanks and max-level gear.
• Dorothy Mantooth OF said the Lonestar faction bonus makes people leave matches if they're not on the blue team.
• Many others say the wipe favors players with lots of free time, and that DMRs feel too weak after the Season 2 damage changes.

BULKHEAD has been open that Season 2 includes experiments. It called the Lonestar cash and XP bonus a "social experiment" to fix the blue team's lower win rate, and said the upcoming Wager Vendor may be pulled if it turns out to be too exploitable.

What is WARDOGS?

WARDOGS is a tactical, all-out-warfare FPS from BULKHEAD, published by Team17. Up to 100 players split into three teams fight over randomized 2x2km Control Zones in large maps set in the industrial mountains of Eastern Europe. The team with the most players in the zone earns points, and the first to 100 points wins. The mode is inspired by "King of the Hill".

Money drives everything. You start with $10,000, buy a loadout every life (weapons, gear, utility and vehicles), and earn cash for teamplay like reviving squadmates, ferrying players to the zone and holding the objective. Cash carries over between matches, so a well-timed tank or helicopter can pay for itself. You can also build forward bases, destroy buildings, and talk to anyone nearby with proximity voice chat.

How popular is WARDOGS?

Very. According to BULKHEAD and Team17:

• The closed beta in August 2026 drew a huge turnout, and the game passed 1 million Steam wishlists on August 14.
• It sold 1.25 million copies by launch day (September 10–11), 2 million by September 15, and 3 million in just over two weeks.
• It peaked at more than 425,000 concurrent players on Steam.
• It's nominated for Best Early Access Game at the 2026 Golden Joystick Awards.

What's in WARDOGS Season 2?

Season 2 (Update 0.2.0) went live on October 15 with a progression wipe and:

• Four new weapons: TCX-SPR assault rifle, PP-19 Bizon SMG, Evo-3 Ultra LMG and M14 marksman rifle, plus new attachments.
• Four new vehicles: the Wolf-110 light transport, an armed Wolf-110 with an M2 Browning, the T-72B3 tank and the Flakpanzer Gepard anti-air vehicle.
• A Molotov, plus three buildables (MG nest, large shelter and a wooden step).
• Rain and thunder: thunder is synced across the server and loud enough to mask footsteps.
• A Wager Vendor (opening later in the season) that lets you bet your own cash on your performance.
• Team-switching limits, the team-kill vote, region ping limits, and big damage changes to high-calibre rounds (.308 down 25%, 7.62x54mmR 20%, 7.62x39mm 19%, .50 cal 16%).

Watch the WARDOGS Season 2 trailer

The official Season 02 trailer from BULKHEAD's YouTube channel. The launch trailer and BULKHEAD's tongue-in-cheek "10 Reasons NOT to Buy WARDOGS" video are worth a look too.

How much is WARDOGS, and what are the PC requirements?

WARDOGS costs $39.99 / £36.99 / €39.99 on Steam. An optional Supporter Pack costs $12.99 / £11.99. BULKHEAD says the game is cheaper in Early Access and may go up in price closer to full release. It expects Early Access to last one to two years, and plans more maps, weapons and vehicles (including fighter jets), deeper progression and a stronger seasonal meta game.

Will the region lock fix WARDOGS?

It should cut down on the high-ping players many people blame for cheating, and BULKHEAD deserves credit for explaining the decision openly and apologizing. But a ping cap isn't anti-cheat: it can't stop someone cheating on a server near them, and it makes life harder for honest players far from a server. The real test is whether BULKHEAD follows it with stronger cheat detection and faster bans. We'll update this article when region locking is finished or the studio shares more.

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WARDOGS region lock FAQ