WARDOGS system requirements: minimum, recommended and what actually runs it
Official specs from the Steam page: minimum Intel i5-8600 / Ryzen 5 3500, GTX 1660 / RX 590, 16 GB RAM, 50 GB, for 1080p Low at 60 FPS. Recommended i7-12700K / Ryzen 7 5700X, RTX 3070 / RX 6700 XT, 16 GB, for 1440p Medium at 70+ FPS. Windows 10 minimum, Windows 11 recommended. Easy Anti-Cheat (kernel-level) is required.
Official requirements
| Minimum (1080p Low, 60 FPS) | Recommended (1440p Medium, 70+ FPS) | |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 11 64-bit |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-8600 / AMD Ryzen 5 3500 | Intel Core i7-12700K / AMD Ryzen 7 5700X |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1660 / AMD RX 590 | NVIDIA RTX 3070 / AMD RX 6700 XT |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | 50 GB | 50 GB (SSD strongly advised) |
| Network | Broadband | Broadband |
What the specs mean in practice
- The CPU line is the real one. 100 players, vehicles and destruction are simulated on your CPU. A 6-core from 2018 hits the 60 FPS floor; an 8-core 12th-gen or Zen 3 gives you 100+.
- The GPU line is generous. At Low settings the game is not demanding on the card. Where the GPU matters is resolution and textures: 8 GB cards should stay on Medium textures at 1440p.
- RAM: 16 GB is a hard floor. The game alone sits at 10–13 GB during a full match. Close Chrome.
- SSD. The game will install on a hard drive, but the shader compile and map streaming will stutter. Put it on the NVMe.
Will it run on my card
| GPU | 1080p | 1440p | 3440×1440 | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTX 1660 / RX 590 | 60, Low | No | No | No |
| RTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT | 90, Medium | 60, Low–Med | 50, Low | No |
| RTX 3070 / RX 6700 XT | 120+, High | 80–100, Medium | 70, Medium + FSR/DLSS Q | 45 |
| RTX 4070 / RX 7700 XT | 144+, High | 120, High | 100, High + FSR/DLSS Q | 60, DLSS/FSR B |
| RTX 4080 / RX 7900 XTX | 165+ | 144+ | 130+ | 90, DLSS/FSR Q |
These are from beta builds on Medium-to-High with the settings on the best settings page and will move as BULKHEAD optimises through Early Access.
Anti-cheat
Easy Anti-Cheat runs at kernel level and installs a driver. Secure Boot is not required at launch but that could change; keep TPM and Secure Boot available in your BIOS. Virtual machines, Proton and Steam Deck are not supported.
Storage and downloads
50 GB install. Launch-week Steam traffic makes the first download slow; set Steam's download region to a nearby city rather than "auto" if it crawls. Budget another 5–10 GB for the shader cache and the first month of patches.
FAQ
How big is the WARDOGS download?
50 GB. Leave 60 GB free for the shader cache and patches.
Will WARDOGS run on 8 GB RAM?
No. 16 GB is the minimum and the game uses 10–13 GB in a full 100-player match.
Is there a Steam Deck or Linux version?
No native build and Easy Anti-Cheat's kernel module isn't enabled for Proton at launch, so treat Steam Deck as unsupported for now.
Is WARDOGS on console?
PC only in Early Access. BULKHEAD has not announced console versions.
Sick of full servers and queues?
Rent your own WARDOGS server from an approved host and play with your mates on your rules. UK/EU: QONZER (bare metal, no slot fees). Anywhere else: BisectHosting (21 locations). Casual group: xREALM (pay by the hour). Full comparison.