Closed Beta 02 ran from Thursday 3 September 2026 at 18:00 UTC to Sunday 6 September 2026 at 08:00 UTC. There were exactly two official ways in: pre-order any edition, or click Request Access on the Steam store page and wait to be selected.
Beta progress did not carry into the released game. Anything you unlocked or earned during the test was wiped before Early Access.
AI concept artThe Closed Beta 02 window
The test opened on Thursday 3 September and closed on Sunday 6 September. In local terms that was 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm BST on the Thursday, through to 1am PT / 4am ET / 9am BST on the Sunday.
Closed Beta 02 was announced around The FPS Games Show and was positioned as the last large-scale test before release. It followed an earlier closed test that ran 21-23 August 2026.
The authoritative source for the schedule is the Steam announcement from BULKHEAD, along with the developer’s Closed Beta 02 announcement video. Media reporting on the dates traces back to those.
| Time zone | Window |
|---|---|
| UTC | 3 Sep 18:00 → 6 Sep 08:00 |
| PT | 3 Sep 12pm → 6 Sep 1am |
| ET | 3 Sep 3pm → 6 Sep 4am |
| BST | 3 Sep 8pm → 6 Sep 9am |
The two ways to get in
The first route was to pre-order. Buying either the standard edition at $39.99 or the Supporter Edition at $49.99 granted beta access immediately, with no separate code to redeem.
The second was the Request Access button on the Steam store page, which entered you into the Steam Playtest pool. Selection was a draw rather than a queue, and chosen players received an email from the developer.
There was no third option. Anything sold elsewhere as a WARDOGS beta key did not originate from BULKHEAD or Team17.
The Firing Range opened early
Players with access could get into the game before the test window formally opened, but only into the Firing Range. It functioned as a warm-up area rather than a live match environment.
This is worth knowing for future tests, because it means the download and any first-launch problems can be dealt with before the servers actually open.
If you are planning around a future test, treat the announced start time as when matches begin, not when you can first launch the client.
Progress was wiped
Nothing earned in the closed beta carried into the released game. Levels, unlocks and cash balances were all reset before Early Access.
That includes the persistent cash system. The $10,000 starting balance and any earnings on top of it were beta-only, so grinding an economy during the test had no long-term payoff.
The test was there to stress the servers and gather feedback before launch, and BULKHEAD published a beta recap covering what they took from it.
PC only, then and now
Both the closed beta and the Early Access period are Windows PC on Steam. There was no console beta, and there is no console version at the time of writing.
PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions are planned to arrive with the 1.0 release rather than during Early Access, and no date window has been given for either.
If you are on console, there was nothing to sign up for during the beta and there is nothing to buy now.
Was there ever going to be an open beta?
It was always unlikely. Closed Beta 02 finished on 6 September and Early Access launched on 10 September, leaving a gap of only a few days.
That is not enough runway to stand up a separate public test, gather results and act on them. The practical reading was that Closed Beta 02 was the final test before release.
BULKHEAD never announced an open beta, and the schedule made one implausible rather than merely unconfirmed.
What to watch for future tests
The Request Access button stays on the Steam store page, and joining the Playtest pool is still the mechanism for future test invitations. Being in the pool does not guarantee selection.
Announcements land on the Steam Community Hub and on the developer’s YouTube channel first, and media coverage follows from there. If you want to catch a test on the day it opens, those are the two places to watch.
Anything circulating as a leaked date without an official post behind it should be treated as rumour until it appears on the Steam announcements page.
Schedules can move. Confirm any test window against the official Steam announcement before planning around it.
What the beta was actually for
A test at this scale exists to stress infrastructure under conditions no internal environment reproduces. Closed Beta 02 peaked at 219,762 concurrent players on 4 September, which is a serious load test by any measure.
That scale also surfaced the authentication problems players hit as error code 1147405308, where the login system was overwhelmed by concurrency rather than failing on individual accounts.
BULKHEAD published a beta recap covering what came out of the tests and what happens next, which is the best source for the studio's own read on the results.
AI concept artHow many people took part
Across the beta programme, close to 500,000 players participated. That is total participation rather than concurrent, so it is a much larger figure than any single peak.
The concurrent peaks tell the growth story: 105,774 on 23 August during the first test, 162,488 on 3 September as Closed Beta 02 opened, then 219,762 the following day.
The game also passed one million Steam wishlists before launch, which measures purchase intent rather than players in-game.
Closed beta questions answered
Short answers to what people search for around the test.
- When was the closed beta? — Closed Beta 02 ran 3-6 September 2026, following an earlier test on 21-23 August.
- How did I get access? — Pre-order any edition, or be selected from the Request Access pool.
- Did progress carry over? — No. Everything was wiped before Early Access.
- Was there an open beta? — No, and the four-day gap before release made one impractical.
- Could I play before the servers opened? — Yes, but only the Firing Range.
- Was there a console beta? — No. Both tests were PC-only.