00:02Everyone is asking, when is the release date?
00:09Goddammit, Joe.
00:10Give us the release date.
00:13I don't know when we didn't get any freaking release date or anything.
00:18No specific date yet, but they did say this year, so I'm guessing it's going to be soon.
00:24What if they did for a release date because they actually plan on releasing it really soon?
00:39That's it, it's now official.
00:41War Dogs is releasing into Steam Early Access next month, on the 10th of September.
00:47Steam pre-orders for War Dogs are live right now.
00:51Pre-ordering will guarantee you access into our upcoming closed beta ahead of release,
00:56allowing anyone who's interested in the game to try it out and refund the game
00:59if you don't like it.
01:00We fully get opening pre-orders for an early access game is kind of out of left field.
01:06So for context, opening pre-orders now helps us more accurately predict how many players
01:11and servers we need to be running in each region, which will massively help ensure stability at launch.
01:17After our insane response to our closed alpha weekend, we just thought, why not?
01:21Our time is now.
01:22We just want to remind everyone that you can refund pre-orders and that we're more than okay with that,
01:27as it's the best way to open early access to the game for players who most want it,
01:31without fully opening the floodgates.
01:33However, before the hype train gets out of control, we want to do something most AAA marketing teams
01:38would tell their dev teams to never do.
01:40Give you 10 legitimate reasons why you should not buy War Dogs.
01:49Reason number one is the lack of content and the speed at which we deliver it.
01:53Our focus has been on core gameplay and performance.
01:55From a business standpoint, we invested most of our money into those things,
01:59leaving less for content and the shiny things that actually sell games.
02:03What I'm saying is War Dogs has a content problem.
02:06We are launching with 37 weapons, 21 vehicles and three maps,
02:10with each of those maps having three variations within them.
02:13But after launch into early access next month, we'll be focusing on bug fixes,
02:17keeping the devs on hand to react to major feedback points and a new map.
02:21But beyond that, in order to hit the 1.0 release with our metagame
02:25and truly deliver on our vision for War Dogs as a title that can go the distance,
02:29we need to make sure that our devs are focused on exactly that.
02:33As a result, players should not expect regular content drops.
02:37We will update the game regularly, but the focus will be on balancing and fixing issues,
02:41just as early access was intended for.
02:43We want to make sure your expectations are set here before you purchase.
02:47You shouldn't expect monthly map updates or new vehicles being added.
02:51That's the plan for after 1.0.
02:53For now, we want to focus on building the metagame
02:55and making the improvements we identify throughout early access.
02:59And as a result, we're going to price it accordingly.
03:06War Dogs is not cheap to make, and at full release, War Dogs will cost $59.99.
03:12But we haven't delivered the metagame yet.
03:14If the game doesn't have all the features, we can't charge full price,
03:18so we're cutting it to $49.99.
03:21But with the lack of content in Year 1 of War Dogs, we can't fairly justify that either,
03:27so we're cutting it to $39.99.
03:30Throughout development, we will step the pricing up to $49.99,
03:34when the relevant updates are delivered throughout that first year.
03:37Then, when we come true on our commitment to deliver the metagame and all the content in 1.0,
03:42then and only then will we step the price up to $59.99.
03:47Right now, you can pre-order War Dogs for $39.99 on Steam and get access to the beta.
03:53And if you don't enjoy the beta, or you just don't think the price is right, just refund it.
03:57We see this stair-stepped pricing approach as being the fairest method to reward the players
04:02who brought into War Dogs early, whilst also delivering a financial boost to the game later
04:07in its development, as we seek to continue to add value to the game.
04:10If the price feels too high for an early access game, please don't buy it yet.
04:15Wait until the game has more of what you want, and consider it then.
04:21War Dogs is performing beyond our expectations, with 800,000 wishlists rising.
04:27But we still need to be level-headed about player expectations.
04:31Yes, we do expect our initial days after launch to have a lot more players than we expected,
04:35but we can tell you for a fact this is something completely normal,
04:39that those players will fall away over the next coming months.
04:42Player numbers will drop off, and journalists and influencers on the fringe of the community
04:46will try and rage-bait your enjoyment out of the game for social media clicks.
04:52This doesn't mean the game is dying. We're thinking longer term than a flash in the pan.
04:56Our goal is to settle into a sustainable, close-knit community.
05:00If we're pulling in 3,000 to 5,000 daily concurrent players who genuinely love the game,
05:05it'll allow new players to buy in at any time and join an active community,
05:09whilst we're free to keep building upon the War Dogs Foundation toward the larger 1.0 release.
05:18The reason number four is monetization.
05:20Why am I always doing these evil business ones?
05:23Can I please just have a cool game mechanic or something really fun?
05:28Okay.
05:31There are three things relating to monetization that you can hold us to account on.
05:36Number one, we will not monetize the game at any point during early access.
05:41Number two, we will never monetize in-game cash or gold bars.
05:44They must be earned through play.
05:47And number three, we will never allow you to purchase camos.
05:50Camos should show a player's status, not how much money they have.
05:55I think at this point we've made it abundantly clear there will be no monetization during early
05:59access with the sole exception of an optional Supporters Edition.
06:03This includes three starter weapon skins, a little bird skin and a couple of bobbleheads.
06:08It also includes a tag on the scoreboard for players who want to show off their support in-game.
06:13However, we don't want the stance here to be misconstrued of War Dogs never having monetization at all.
06:19That's not what we're saying.
06:20War Dogs will release into 1.0 and launch on multiple platforms,
06:24giving us a large boost in base game sales that we can use to reinvest into the game for post
06:29-release.
06:30However, Bulkhead will have ongoing running costs.
06:33Player vault storage, stats, telemetry, anti-cheat updates and servers,
06:37on top of continued development costs that are expenses that need to be justifiable long term
06:42if base game sales no longer cover those costs.
06:45And to be clear, we're talking years in advance.
06:47It might seem strange to be talking about monetization that's years down the line,
06:51but we want you to be able to buy in knowing what you're buying into long term.
06:57We hope that we've shown that we're more than happy to have open discussions to explore
07:02different approaches to problems before committing to them.
07:05Sometimes we'll be a bit off the mark, but good faith conversation is how we intend to find an
07:09acceptable line years in advance that feels fair and allows us to justify the continuous
07:15stream of content we want to serve up many years post 1.0 release.
07:19The War Dogs intellectual property is owned solely by Bulkhead, the developer.
07:24We have control of the future of War Dogs.
07:26So to wrap that point up, we recommend you don't buy War Dogs if you're staunchly against
07:31any form of monetization, as you'll become disappointed in a few years post release.
07:35Our goal is not to bleed players dry until they quit.
07:38It's to break even and then reinvest those profits.
07:45If you're buying War Dogs for the next breakthrough in video game graphics,
07:49you're in the wrong place.
07:50On the flip side, if you're expecting the performance of a 5v5 competitive shooter like
07:55Counter-Strike or Valorant, you're also in the wrong place.
07:58We've done a lot of work to make UE5 FPS ready over a range of hardware,
08:03but if you're expecting to play native 4k at 240 fps, War Dogs is not the game for you.
08:09Every player's bar for what is acceptable performance is different,
08:12and we think what we've achieved with War Dogs is actually pretty good,
08:14considering the scale and the ambition of the title,
08:17and our alpha testers have also shared that same opinion.
08:19If you have a lower spec rig and want more confidence before pre-ordering,
08:22then have a look at our Steam page's minimum and recommended specs,
08:26and then check out our latest devlog where we show our alpha build running on a range of different hardware.
08:31Alternatively, pre-order the game, join in the beta,
08:34and if you don't get the performance you're looking for, or it doesn't live up to the hype,
08:38just refund the game. No hard feelings.
08:43We intend to use early access how it was originally intended,
08:47letting you play the early access build that shows the potential of War Dogs,
08:50whilst we work towards unlocking the full potential at 1.0.
08:55However, we will not have a linear roadmap or fixed content.
08:59Instead, we'll be testing things live with the community,
09:01much like we've been doing during our closed tests at seemingly random times,
09:05as the priorities of our development timelines shift.
09:08We know early access has earned a bad reputation,
09:11because many games forever remain in their unfinished state,
09:14with no plan to ever release.
09:15War Dogs has a plan, and will reach full release roughly 24 months after launching into early access,
09:21in September.
09:22Reaching 1.0 isn't just important for us financially,
09:25it's about delivering our full vision for the game,
09:27and launching on multiple platforms to even more players.
09:34Reaching 1.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.
09:34Yes, we are the developers of Battalion 1944.
09:37That's not hidden information or something to be shy away from.
09:40Ten years ago, when Borkhead was much, much smaller,
09:43and our developers much, much younger,
09:45we kick-started and created a back-to-basics 5v5 World War II shooter called Battalion 1944.
09:50I think as much as we wanted Battalion to succeed,
09:54with the low player numbers of only 50 to 200 daily players,
09:57our published relationships kind of broke down,
10:00and the console version was held in limbo by lawyers,
10:02and we'd burn through our profits supporting the game.
10:05From when we went dark on communication,
10:07it was way darker than we should have gone.
10:09And truthfully, we just didn't have anything to talk about other than the daily of Battalion,
10:14and the glimmers of hope and passion project we were working on in our spare time.
10:19The entire time since Battalion died, we felt like we owed the community a debt.
10:23We just couldn't pay.
10:24Thankfully, Work For Higher Projects came in and helped keep the studio alive,
10:28and eventually we saved enough money to be able to take the unprecedented step
10:33in refunding every Kickstarter backer who helped us bring Battalion to life in the first place.
10:37And it's these lessons and scars from Battalion that War Dogs has been built upon.
10:41It's why we've been so cautious with our playtesting,
10:44and why we've been so open with our marketing.
10:46To be really clear, we wouldn't have War Dogs without Battalion's failure.
10:50But if you still don't trust our studio because of Battalion 1944,
10:54don't rush to buy War Dogs.
10:55We hope our actions speak louder than words,
10:57and you're always welcome to join the fun if you're willing to give our team another chance.
11:05War Dogs has local VoIP heard by all three teams,
11:08and that means players will naturally talk shit.
11:12And not just players, the devs are going to do it too.
11:15I wasn't even paying attention Jay, I bet you think you're doing fucking good as well mate.
11:19If you are more sensitive to that kind of banter, you do have the option to mute individual
11:23players or VoIP entirely, and disable the text chat. However, there is a line between banter
11:28and being a dickhead. And that line can be drawn by the community server admins, per server,
11:34and ultimately by us, the devs. Just for the record, if the devs that got banned from Twitch have to
11:39get
11:40involved and ban you, it's very likely that you're a dick.
11:42Oh, you fucker!
11:45Oh, me!
11:50War Dogs is designed as a PC-focused game for PC players first, but we know that some players
11:55want to just use gamepads, so there will be partial gamepad support at early access launch.
12:00However, keyboard and mouse will always be the optimal way to experience War Dogs on PC.
12:05With controller support comes the topic of aim assist. This will exist, but only to a small degree,
12:11as playing without it is honestly just comically bad.
12:17There aren't any handouts in War Dogs though. It requires mastery, skill and knowledge to succeed,
12:22regardless of input. If the idea someone wants to play with a gamepad is a deal breaker for you,
12:27then don't buy War Dogs.
12:34Nobody likes dying. In War Dogs especially, if you're running in like you're playing Call of Duty
12:39or Battlefield, you will likely die to someone playing more cautiously. If you're not willing
12:43to learn from those deaths, you're going to have a bad time. One of the complaints we see from players
12:48is about how long it takes to get back into the control zone after you die, blissfully unaware that
12:54this is your punishment for dying, which creates an entire value vector for alternate roles such as
13:00pilots and drivers getting you back into the action. Instead of an arbitrary respawn timer on
13:05your UI like an arcade shooter, in War Dogs your respawn timer is instead based on the choices you
13:10make from spawn. Should you buy a vehicle or catch a lift? Which vehicle is the fastest? Can you trust
13:16that pilot or not? It all matters how and who you travel with, how fast you're willing to get there
13:22and deciding the optimal route to get back into the action. Getting from the safe zone to the control
13:28zone, to holding on and respawning. Every decision has risks and consequences, with every outcome etched
13:34into your account balance. It's your cash, your decisions, your consequences. We've said it before,
13:40War Dogs is not for everyone. So if you can't cope with those stakes, you may want to place something
13:45else
13:45instead. There you go. There's ten reasons you shouldn't buy War Dogs. If you're still here after
13:59all of that, War Dogs Early Access might actually be for you. But why are we laboring these points?
14:04For us, it all comes down to confidence. Confidence that you're buying a product from a team with a vision.
14:10We're not saying our game is perfect. We're saying here is our plan, here is our vision,
14:14we know what we want to make. We've got the confidence to put War Dogs in your hands before
14:20it's fully complete. Confidence that we've spent the last four years building something that players
14:25genuinely want. And confidence that War Dogs is not being made for everyone is the reason it will succeed.
14:31And if we're right, the commitment to take our profits and go all in on making our 1.0 release
14:36everything we know it can be. With a blessing from Valve, War Dogs Early Access and Supporters Edition
14:41is available to pre-order now. And purchasing will guarantee you access to our closed beta on the
14:4721st of August to help you decide if you've made the right choice. You've listened and you've watched.
14:53Now is the time to play.
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