WARDOGS account problems: family sharing gone, wrong bans, Linux and vanished money

Some problems are not on your PC. They are on your account: a shared Steam library suddenly refuses to start WARDOGS, a ban appears out of nowhere, nothing runs at all on Linux, or the balance is almost empty after one session. There are clear answers for these four cases, some official, some uncomfortable. We sort them out and show what a ticket looks like that can actually be processed. Status: 22 September 2026.

Family Sharing is off, and it stays off

If you played WARDOGS through Steam Family Sharing, you have been locked out since 18 September. That is not a bug but a deliberate decision: according to the official statement from the WARDOGS account, a number of accounts used family sharing to bypass bans and keep cheating, so the feature was disabled for the game. It came alongside the Bulkhead boss’s line that the purchase price is the best anti-cheat.

For you that means everyone at the table needs their own copy. There is no workaround, and there will not be one that could be recommended in good conscience. If you only ever used the game through a shared library and can therefore no longer play, a Steam refund is the honest option, as long as you are still inside the limits.

Linux and Steam Deck: not officially supported

The pinned thread states the official position unambiguously: Linux is not officially supported, Proton compatibility is being worked on, and there is no commitment for the early access period. That the game ran under Proton in earlier tests was, according to the studio, happenstance and not a promise. The developers explicitly recommend a refund if you bought the game for Linux.

In practice: do not collect launch errors under Proton and send them in as bug reports. They will not help you, because the anti-cheat is not meant to run on Linux. Keep an eye on the thread instead; if the situation changes, it will show up there first.

Wrongly banned: log in again first, then open a ticket

Shortly after launch a small group of players was banned when joining a server although they had done nothing. According to the team this was tied to lingering permissions from internal tests and the FirstLook link. The official instruction in the pinned thread now reads:

• Start the game and log in again. If you get in, the case is closed and nothing further is needed.
• If you still cannot log in, contact support directly with your Steam ID: support.team17.com.

Important: a ban appeal belongs in the ticket system, not in a forum thread. Give your Steam ID, the date, the rough time and the exact wording of the message. Anything else just costs one round of follow-up questions.

Cash and XP farms: why your account is at risk

In parallel the studio is moving against exploits that allowed in-game currency and experience to be farmed at speed, and has stated publicly that players’ server visits are tracked. Anyone joining in on a shortcut that looks suspiciously automated is risking their account. That is not a bug and not a matter of interpretation: earn the money through game mechanics and you have nothing to explain.

“My money is gone”: mostly mechanics, sometimes worth reporting

Two threads report the same shock: over 100,000 dollars a moment ago, now a low five-figure remainder, and not even a kit is affordable. Before you report that as a bug, check the obvious explanation, because the game’s economy is built on exactly this:

• Purchased equipment is lost on death. Several expensive lives in a row drain the account faster than it feels.
• Vehicles and helicopters are the biggest single item. Learning to fly costs money by design, and that is precisely what the reporters describe.
• The Season 1 changelog raised prices and stretched the XP curve. What still sounds like the old price in your head now costs more.

If the loss cannot be explained that way, for example because the balance dropped without a purchase and without a death, the case should be reported: with Steam ID, server, time, the amount before and after and, if possible, a screenshot of the balance.

This is how to get back on your feet afterwards without taking risks:

• Spot with binoculars. The cheapest entry with a reliable payout, from a covered position out of sight.
• Play support: revives, transport, resupply. Teamplay pays, and the gear for it is cheap.
• Build as soon as a hammer is affordable, and take on logistics runs before going back into expensive firefights.
• Only buy big again once you have a buffer for several lives. Our money calculator and the budget loadouts help with the maths.

What a ticket that gets processed quickly looks like

Team17 Support asks for the same things over and over in the forums. Sending them straight away saves days:

• Steam ID, date, time with time zone, server name or join code.
• The error code verbatim, including the string of digits and letters after it.
• DxDiag as a text file: Windows key and R, dxdiag, save all information, upload the contents to a pastebin service and give the link.
• Screenshot via the Steam overlay with F12, uploaded, with the address included.
• What you already tried, above all verifying the game files.

Our order in short

• Family sharing: buy your own copy or get a refund, there is no way back.
• Linux: not officially supported, consider a refund, watch the thread.
• Ban: log in once more, otherwise a ticket with your Steam ID to support.team17.com.
• Do not join farming exploits, server visits are tracked.
• Check a money loss against deaths, purchases and the new prices first, then report it.
• Submit the ticket complete: Steam ID, time, error code, DxDiag, screenshot, steps already taken.