WARDOGS Devs Reveal Blue Team's Abysmal Win Rate & Season 2 Changes

BULKHEAD reveals just how bad Blue Team's win rate is in WARDOGS and details an experimental plan to turn things around in Season 2.

Published Oct 9, 2026, 12:01 PM EDT

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I've played WARDOGS almost every day since it launched in Early Access, and of the many discussions and memes that have come from the buzz around the game, one thing stands out the most: Blue Team sucks. Avoiding Blue (dubbed "Lonestar" in the game) has become a game of its own. At the beginning of a match, players can find themselves repeatedly clicking Green or Red, hoping a spot opens up so they don't have to play as the perpetually struggling Lonestar faction.

I had a chance to meet with and hear from the leads at developer BULKHEAD earlier this week and they revealed just how bad things have gotten. Blue Team wins only 10% of matches, compared to 40% for Red and 50% for Green. Lonestar's win rate was previously around 20%, meaning the situation has actually gotten worse since launch. It really was the memes.

BULKHEAD also shared its plans to address the problem in WARDOGS Season 2 (officially dubbed Update 0.2), which launches October 15. The studio is introducing what it calls a "social experiment" to encourage more players to join Blue Team, directly reward them for sticking with them, along with larger fundamental game changes to address some of the faction's disadvantages.

WARDOGS Season 2 Will Reward Players For Joining Blue Team

In discussing what the data shows from season 1 of WARDOGS in its first weeks, BULKHEAD explained that Red Team typically racks up the most kills, often at Blue Team's expense, while Green Team takes advantage of the fighting to secure victories. It's a pattern that has contributed to Lonestar's terrible reputation. Alongside their inability to fly and organize, that is. I'm mostly joking but that data speaks for itself.

For Season 2, Blue Team players will receive bonus cash and XP for winning matches, along with additional cash and XP multipliers for teamplay actions. These incentives will only be available during Season 2, which is scheduled to last six weeks. That timing may change, but that's what I was told about upcoming seasons when I asked earlier this week.

BULKHEAD wants to see whether these rewards will attract different players to Lonestar and improve the faction's win rate. The developers are also interested in whether the experiment can change the community's perception of Blue Team.

In terms of the game design and mechanics, BULKHEAD is adjusting Lonestar's uniforms to make them less conspicuous, addressing complaints that Blue players are easier to spot than the other factions. And all three teams are also getting redesigned spawn locations on Bakurani, the game's map.

The devs acknowledged that the existing layout heavily favors certain teams, so the new spawn areas have been rebuilt with routes more dedicated toward the control zone.

Another Season 2 change will help any team that's falling significantly behind. A faction trailing the second-place team by at least 40 points will receive a 20% discount at vendors, making weapons, equipment and vehicles more affordable during a losing match.

BULKHEAD Doesn't Want WARDOGS To Be Perfectly Balanced

One thing BULKHEAD and CEO Joe Brammer has emphasized since WARDOGS launched is that the game isn't supposed to be perfectly balanced. The developers reiterated this during a little press conference I attended, explaining that their priority is giving players the freedom to do whatever they want within the sandbox, but to also ensure gameplay encourages and allows them to.

Players can spend an entire match fighting over the control zone, constructing defenses, operating vehicles, running supplies or coming up with strategies the developers never anticipated. BULKHEAD doesn't want to restrict those possibilities simply to make every match more predictable.

The developers aren't particularly concerned with all three factions having identical win rates, either. They're comfortable experimenting with the balance rather than trying to make everything perfectly fair. What does concern them, however, is when the imbalance starts forcing players to play in ways they don't want to. And that's precisely what's happening with Blue Team.

Lonestar's reputation has become so bad that players like myself actively avoid joining it, even before a match begins. Brammer jokingly had some choice words for players like me who avoid Blue Team, but I won't repeat them here. That community phenomenon created problems beyond the faction's actual performance, as the team struggles to attract players who are willing to coordinate and compete.

The "social experiement of sorts is an interesting and fun approach for a game that encourages players to make their own decisions, even when those decisions aren't necessarily good for their team. I love that htey can just throw out ideas like this just so see how it affects the gameplay over time, with no hard rules. With Blue winning just one in ten matches, there's plenty of room for improvement. I'm going to try my best to help.

WARDOGS Season 2 launches October 15, with the Blue Team incentives planned to run for the full six-week season.