While this season has been a battleground between high-profile releases, Bulkhead Studios’ WARDOGS is fighting a different battle. After selling three million copies in early access, it faces many more expectations for the milsim, especially with Season 2 around the corner.
Then there’s the long-term – WARDOGS on Xbox Series X/S and PS5 (and ideally, the launch of 1.0). It’s currently aiming for 2028, but one has to ask: What about next-gen consoles? Their existence hasn’t been much of a secret. Well, good news, because studio co-founder Howard Philpott had the same thought.
“I think there’s not too much to consider,” he told IGN. “We make the game performant; we’re going to get it on the next-gen consoles. From our perspective, it’s a straight port. So yeah, absolutely is the short answer, to be honest.”
In fact, the team is “obviously already in conversation with the proprietors of those platforms,” per senior producer Kane Allard. “They’re going to have certain criteria that we have to match, and I assume it’s going to be the same for those other consoles as well. So from our perspective, if we get it on a base Xbox or base PlayStation, it shouldn’t be much more work to get it on next-gen, and it should just be more performance. So I don’t think it gives us anything new.”
Xbox has confirmed Project Helix as its next-generation console, though it will also play PC games. CEO Asha Sharma reportedly reaffirmed in a town hall that it would be a “family of devices,” but a release window and pricing remain unknown. The same applies for PlayStation, even if Sony hasn’t officially announced the PS6.
However, chips for both consoles have reportedly been taped out, and they’re seemingly on track for a late 2027 launch. With the PS6’s alleged bill of materials nearing $1,000, the next generation could very well be the most expensive.
Time will tell how much of a concern that is for developers such as Bulkhead. For now, at least, WARDOGS: Season 2 goes live on October 15th.
