Wardogs CEO wants hardcore FPS progression that doesn't punish casual players

Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer sat down with Polygon to explain how Wardogs — the studio's upcoming 100-player hardcore FPS — is being designed to respect players' time, even as it builds out a deep metagame that rewards the most dedicated.

The core tension Brammer is navigating: Wardogs shares DNA with Escape From Tarkov — 100 players, zone control on a massive map, a cash-focused metagame — but he deliberately avoided the regular wipe cycle that defines Tarkov. Brammer says he's more of a Valorant player himself, drawn to the pick-up-and-play side of competitive shooters. So in Wardogs, when a seasonal reset hits and your bank balance drops to zero, your character progression stays intact. XP works similarly to RuneScape — you earn it by performing actions, and over time you become genuinely better at specific roles. A sniper who's been playing for three years will hold their breath longer and snap onto targets faster. "Someone who's been playing as a sniper for three years is going to hold their breath longer and be more accurate quicker when holding their breath," Brammer told Polygon.

This philosophy traces directly back to Bulkhead's previous game, Battalion 1944 — a World War 2 arena shooter in the vein of Counter-Strike. The game blew up bigger than the team expected, and they couldn't keep pace with the demand. That experience shaped how Brammer thinks about player retention and fairness. "Wardogs is all about respecting people's time and rewarding persistence," he said. "When you come back, it's not like you forget the fact you've put loads of time into this. So you don't get Wardogs without Battalion, because those learnings came from a very indie, amateur place."

Bulkhead has already detailed how the deeper metagame will work for power users — players can become arms dealers and day traders within the game's economy. Wardogs is currently in pre-alpha testing and is targeting an early access release later this year.