The most recent WARDOGS playtest was Closed Beta 02, which ran from 3 September 2026 at 18:00 UTC to 6 September 2026 at 08:00 UTC. No further playtest has been announced.
The next date on the calendar is 10 September 2026, but that is the Steam Early Access launch, not another test. If you missed the beta, the next time you can play is at release.
AI concept artThe Closed Beta 02 window in your time zone
The test ran across a long weekend, opening on the Thursday afternoon UTC and closing early on the Sunday morning UTC. The table below converts the official window into the zones most players asked about.
For anywhere not listed, work from the UTC figures rather than converting from one of the local times, which avoids compounding a daylight-saving error.
| Time zone | Start → End |
|---|---|
| UTC | 3 Sep 18:00 → 6 Sep 08:00 |
| PT (US West) | 3 Sep 12:00pm → 6 Sep 1:00am |
| ET (US East) | 3 Sep 3:00pm → 6 Sep 4:00am |
| BST (UK) | 3 Sep 8:00pm → 6 Sep 9:00am |
| CST (UTC+8) | 4 Sep 02:00 → 6 Sep 16:00 |
Is another playtest scheduled?
No. As of the review date on this page, BULKHEAD has not announced any further test window.
That is not the same as ruling one out. The developer published a beta recap covering what came out of Closed Beta 02 and what happens next, and that channel is where a new test would be announced first.
Until something appears on the official Steam announcements page, any date circulating for a “next playtest” is unsourced.
10 September is not a playtest
This causes real confusion, so it is worth stating plainly: 10 September 2026 is the Steam Early Access launch date. It is a paid release, not another free test.
Access works differently as a result. During the beta you needed either a pre-order or a Request Access invitation; after 10 September you simply buy the game.
Early Access is also not the 1.0 release. BULKHEAD has said it expects to stay in Early Access for roughly 12 to 24 months depending on player feedback.
Earlier tests
Closed Beta 02 was not the first test. An earlier closed beta ran 21-23 August 2026, and it is the one that produced the first widely reported concurrent-player figures.
Both tests used the same access mechanism: pre-order for guaranteed entry, or Request Access for a chance at an invitation.
Cumulatively the beta programme drew close to 500,000 participants, which is the context for why the September test drew far more players than the August one.
How to be in the pool for future tests
The Request Access button on the WARDOGS Steam store page adds you to the Steam Playtest pool. It stays available whether or not a test is currently running.
Selection from that pool is a draw, not a queue, so joining early does not improve your position and there is no waiting list to climb. Players who are picked receive an email from the developer.
There is no other official route. Nobody sells legitimate playtest access, and there is no code to redeem even when you are selected.
AI concept artWhere the dates get published
Test schedules appear on the Steam Community Hub and in the developer’s announcement videos before they reach anywhere else. Both the August and September windows were published that way.
The Steam announcements page is also where a delay or an extension would show up, which matters because test windows have been adjusted in the past across the genre.
If a date on this page ever disagrees with the official Steam announcement, the Steam announcement is correct.
This page reflects what was announced as of 5 September 2026. Check the official Steam announcements for anything newer.
Playtest, closed beta or Early Access?
These three terms get used interchangeably in search results and they mean different things here, which is a large part of why the dates confuse people.
The Steam Playtest is the access mechanism — the pool you enter with Request Access. Closed Beta 02 was the test event itself, running 3-6 September. Early Access is the paid release that began on 10 September.
A further complication is that Steam listed the playtest as a separate application from the retail game, which is also why player-count figures from the test period do not appear on the retail game chart.
If you missed the window
Nothing was permanently lost. Beta progress did not carry into the released game — levels, unlocks and cash balances were all reset before Early Access.
That means players who only started at launch began on exactly the same footing as those who played both tests. There was no head start to miss.
The one thing testers got that you cannot recover is the experience of the test builds themselves, which differed from the released version.
Date questions answered
The short answers for the most common variations of this search.
- Is a playtest running now? — No test window has been announced beyond Closed Beta 02.
- When was the last one? — 3 September 18:00 UTC to 6 September 08:00 UTC, 2026.
- Was there an earlier test? — Yes, 21-23 August 2026.
- Is 10 September a playtest? — No, that is the paid Early Access launch.
- How do I get into the next one? — Request Access on the Steam store page. Selection is a random draw.
- Did beta progress carry over? — No. Everything was wiped before release.
Why the tests were closed rather than open
Both test windows were closed, meaning access was limited to pre-orders and selected Request Access invitations rather than open to anyone with a Steam account.
That structure gives the developer control over load. Even so, Closed Beta 02 reached 219,762 concurrent players and produced authentication failures under the strain, which suggests an open test would have been substantially harder to run.
It also explains why so many players searched for dates without ever getting in. Knowing the schedule and holding access were two separate things.
The takeaway
The last WARDOGS playtest was Closed Beta 02, running 3 September 18:00 UTC to 6 September 08:00 UTC 2026, preceded by an earlier test on 21-23 August.
No further test has been announced, and 10 September 2026 was the paid Early Access launch rather than another free window.
If future tests happen, Request Access on the Steam store page is the mechanism, and the Steam Community Hub is where the dates will appear first.