Steam shooter explodes in popularity after devs warn fans not to buy it

Wardogs developer Bulkhead is having a refreshingly honest conversation with PC gamers

Gamers are a stubborn bunch. If a game asks a player to go right, the first thing they're probably going to try is going left. This is a group of people who would rather spend 10 minutes going up a 90-degree mountain even if they know that walking around it is easier. And so, when developer Bulkhead told Steam users to abstain from purchasing its tactical first-person shooter, you can imagine what happened next.

Wardogs is a "dad shooter" that's being marketed as a more hardcore version of Battlefield and Call of Duty. There are a ton of big back-on-the-box features: 100-player matches, destructible environments, a deep skill system, base building, and a healthy array of weapons. There are some novel mechanics, like one that allows players to become in-game weapons merchants. Previews of the team-based shooter have largely been positive.

In advance of its September 2026 early access period, Wardogs' developers published a 15-minute video titled "10 Reasons NOT to Buy" the game. It begins by assuring players that, should the upcoming Wardogs beta prove disappointing, all pre-orders can be canceled.

"We want to do something that most AAA marketing teams would tell their dev teams to never do," the Bulkhead developer in the video continues, "give you 10 legitimate reasons why you should not buy Wardogs."

Incredibly, it's not an ironic tongue-in-cheek premise that bombards the viewer with all the ways the game will exceed expectations. Instead, it's a refreshingly honest breakdown of potential things players should keep in mind before investing in the $39.99 FPS.

For example, Bulkhead expresses fear that Wardogs might have a content problem. Rather than using early access to continue expanding on the game, the developers want to double down on polishing everything what's already in it. "Players should not expect regular content drops," the narrator says.

The developers also worry that $39.99 is a steep price for an early access game. The creative team wants to find a sustainable way to monetize the game in the long term, and caution that the game may incorporate microtransactions. Ideally, these additional purchases don't compromise the base experience — but Bulkhead doesn't want the eventual monetization to feel like a rug pull.

The video is full of very real caveats, many of which apply to most live-service games yet are scarcely acknowledged by publishers or development teams. For instance, Wardogs' developers say that, regardless of the existing hype around the game, concurrent player counts will likely fluctuate over time. Bulkhead also won't be sharing a development roadmap for players. Perhaps the most shocking argument against pre-ordering is an admission that the studio's last game was a failure. The team learned some hard lessons thanks to that failure, but they wouldn't blame anyone for feeling wary about buying a game from a group with a rocky track record.

Rather than function like a death sentence, the video has inspired loyalty. In one top-voted YouTube comment, a viewer claimed they purchased the game within seconds after finishing the video.

"This approach to marketing and developer communication is an absolute tonic to some of the bullshit we've been acclimatized to over years now," another YouTube viewer declared.

"This is unheard of," another opined.

Granted, an approach like this wouldn't work unless the game was genuinely good. The developers also downplay the game's strengths: sure, there might not be a buffet of updates in the pipeline, but Wardogs is still launching with more content than comparable big-budget shooters.

No wonder, then, that Wardogs has shot up to the top 10 best-selling Steam games within 24 hours of publishing the video.