WARDOGS Season 3 starts 12 November: Sabatulo map, Limited Mode and a wipe

On 6 November 2026, BULKHEAD published the "Road to Season 3" announcement on Steam, together with a new devlog video. That makes the date official: Season 3 starts on Thursday, 12 November 2026. The studio has not given a time yet. The full patch notes are still missing as well; a "Season 03 Patch Notes Preview" is announced for early in the week of 9 November. This article reflects the state as of 9 November 2026.

What the official Steam post says

• Season 3 begins on 12 November.
• New map: **Sabatulo**, built for urban warfare and close-quarters fighting.
• Seasons are getting longer.
• The team looks back at what went wrong in Season 2 and promises no more experiments at the players' expense and no more hasty course changes in reaction to every response. The goal remains version 1.0.
• Part of the devlog covers cheating, exploits and the countermeasures going into Season 3.

Devlog details according to press coverage

The following points do not come from the Steam post but from reports about the video (Insider Gaming and Worthplaying on 6 November, GameRiv on 7 November). They agree on the core facts. They only become binding with the patch notes.

• **Wipe:** Season 3 starts with a season reset so everyone begins fresh. Exactly which values reset has not been published. Our season reset guide explains what carried over at the last change.
• **Slower progression:** The pace is meant to move back closer to Season 1. The studio itself calls Season 2's faster progression too aggressive.
• **Unlocks across several roles:** Items that suit more than one role are meant to sit on several unlock tracks. You will need to play a role you don't care about less often just to get one specific item. Which items are affected and at what levels is still open. Our roles and leveling guide covers the roles in detail.
• **Seasons of about three months:** From Season 3, seasons are to run for roughly three months. The team had already hinted at this in the podcast.

The October podcast mentioned a new map with a multi-storey hospital. One report names a clinic as a landmark on Sabatulo. The Steam post itself does not confirm this.

Limited Mode

Limited Mode is a separate server variant meant to keep the early and mid game relevant for longer. Strong gear is supposed to give less of an edge there. According to the reports, the plans include:

• FMJ ammunition only,
• armour capped at tier 2,
• a smaller selection of attack vehicles,
• restrictions on certain especially powerful weapons and equipment.

The studio says the final list is not settled yet. Cash and XP earned in Limited Mode also count on standard servers, and vice versa. Our guide to the game mode and server types explains how Limited Mode differs from Infantry Mode and low-level servers.

Anti-cheat and exploits

• The latest ban wave hit around **185,000 accounts**, according to the studio (Insider Gaming, GameRiv).
• According to Worthplaying and GameRiv, BULKHEAD analysed around 187 million hours of gameplay with machine learning and is bringing forward further anti-cheat layers that were originally planned for 2027.
• GameRiv also relays the studio's figure that about 4.89% of players worldwide use external software, and cites nearly four million players since launch. We could not check these figures against a second source.
• Groups that farmed cash and XP on their own community servers, and in some cases sold it on, were banned according to the reports. Their illegitimate progress was reset, the servers were shut down, and the operators involved may no longer host WARDOGS servers. What is allowed when you rent your own server is covered in our article on the hosting partners.
• A player trust score and a new progression system are announced for 2027, without a date.

If you believe you were banned by mistake, our guide to accounts, bans and lost money helps with the support ticket.

Graphics: "Potato Shadows" (single report)

PlayGround.ru reported on 8 November that BULKHEAD plans to reset the "Potato Shadows" setting when Season 3 launches, because it removes almost all shadows and therefore gives a visibility advantage. According to the report, anyone who forces the setting on powerful hardware anyway risks a ban. The general Potato Mode is said to be unaffected. The Steam post says nothing about this, and we had not found a second source by 9 November. Check your in-game graphics settings after the update and do not edit configuration files until the patch notes clarify the rule. General advice is in our settings guide.

A break in December

According to Insider Gaming, the studio is taking a month off after the season launch. PlayGround.ru cites an interview CEO Joe Brammer gave to Edge magazine and names the whole of December, with the team returning in January. For you, that means Season 3 keeps running, but larger patches in December are unlikely.

What you can do before 12 November

• Don't count on carrying cash or unlocks into Season 3 until the patch notes state how far the wipe goes.
• Read the patch notes preview as soon as it is out. Our patch tracker picks up the official patch notes.
• Decide whether you want to start on standard servers or in Limited Mode. Your progress is the same either way.

What is still open

The launch time, download size, the exact scope of the wipe, the list of Limited Mode restrictions, new weapons or vehicles and balance changes. Our weapon catalog and tier list stay unchanged until the patch notes give values. The background, with the podcast and the postponed devlog, is in our article on the Season 3 plans.