WARDOGS King of the Hill Mode Built With the Mod's Creator

Search results for the WARDOGS King of the Hill mode mostly say it is “inspired by” an Arma 3 mod, then stop.

That leaves you guessing whether it is a clone or the real thing.

BULKHEAD brought in Andre Zanin, the mod’s original creator, to help build it.

This guide covers who made the mode, how it works, and what changed.

Table of Contents

• Who Created the WARDOGS King of the Hill Mode?
• What Was the Arma 3 King of the Hill Mod?
• How Zanin and BULKHEAD Built the Mode Together
• How King of the Hill Works in WARDOGS
• What WARDOGS Changed From the Arma 3 Mod
• Is King of the Hill the Only Mode in WARDOGS?
• Tips for Winning King of the Hill in WARDOGS
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who Created the WARDOGS King of the Hill Mode?

The mode is BULKHEAD’s design, built on the Arma 3 King of the Hill mod by Sa-Matra.

The founder of that mod is Andre Zanin.

In BULKHEAD’s developer video, WARDOGS | Evolving the King of the Hill Mod, he introduces himself in one line.

He calls himself “the original developer and designer of the King of the Hill mod.”

He also says his Arma nickname is Somatra, the name that press coverage and the mod’s own site spell as Sa-Matra.

The video credits a second original developer, Roid Rage, who works with him.

Zanin’s quotes here come from press coverage of the video, so treat the exact wording as reported.

Separate press reports from the announcement period confirm that Sa-Matra and Roid Rage have been involved since the start.

BULKHEAD’s own Steam announcement from February 19, 2026 says the same thing from the studio’s side.

Its design team spent years working directly with the original mod creators.

The stated goal was a standalone shooter that gets past the limits of the mod.

Most WARDOGS guides in the search results treat this as a footnote.

Plenty of games are “inspired by” a mod.

Few bring the person who invented the mode into the building.

What Was the Arma 3 King of the Hill Mod?

The mod is a three-team sector control mission inside Arma 3.

According to the mod’s own site, players gain experience as they play, and that experience unlocks new gear and vehicles to help their team control the zone.

That progression loop is the reason the mod lasted.

The developer video describes a community that kept the mode alive for more than ten years, on a platform that was built as a military simulation and never designed around this mode.

Persistence was the hook.

What a player did in one session carried into the next, so time spent felt invested instead of consumed.

One BULKHEAD developer says in the video that this idea is what made him fall for the mod.

How Zanin and BULKHEAD Built the Mode Together

According to the video, the collaboration was hands-on.

Both sides played prototypes together and talked through which parts of the mod to strengthen and which to dial back.

Zanin calls the feedback from the mod’s long-running community priceless, and that feedback became a main reason BULKHEAD sought him out.

There is also no comparable experience to Arma 3 King of the Hill, so only one community really knows how this mode behaves over thousands of matches.

BULKHEAD is clear that it did not want an exact remake.

Nobody on the team played the mod and decided to rebuild it one to one, and even the mod’s creators reportedly wanted more than Arma 3 could give them.

The video uses the phrase “secret sauce” for what the studio wanted to pull out of the mod and offer to a wider audience.

Three areas stand out in what the developers describe:

• Roles beyond the rifleman. Zanin describes a sandbox where transport, fortification, and scouting all count, noting there are “more facets to it than just run and gun.”
• Destruction and building. Buildings can be damaged and rebuilt, so the battlefield changes as a match unfolds.
• Deeper progression. The persistent system from the mod carries over in reworked form, with progression and roles meant to go further than the original.

His first impression of the playable build, according to the video, is that the essence of the mod was captured.

The video does not give details on how the reworked progression works, so that part of the claim is best treated as a direction, not a spec.

How King of the Hill Works in WARDOGS

The rules fit in a few lines.

Up to 100 players split across three teams and fight over a randomized 2x2 km Control Zone.

The official Steam page says the team with the most players inside the zone earns points, and the first team to 100 points wins.

Every player starts with $10,000, and each life begins with buying a loadout from weapons, gear, utility items, and vehicles.

Cash persists from match to match, so a big purchase at the right moment can pay off across several lives.

Reviving squadmates, transporting teammates to the zone, and controlling the objective all pay cash too.

For a broader explainer of the game itself, see what WARDOGS is, and for the terrain around the objective, see the Control Zone and map layout.

Scoring: Bodies in the Zone Beat Kills

The zone is a headcount contest.

Points are handed out on a repeating scoring check, roughly every 30 seconds in guides that cite BULKHEAD’s developer FAQ.

Shacknews reported a slightly shorter interval, so treat 30 seconds as an approximation and not a fixed rule.

Kills matter because they remove enemy bodies from the count and pay cash, but a kill outside the zone adds nothing to the score.

Three teams also change how fights play out.

Pushing hard against one opponent leaves a flank open to the other, so the strongest team is usually the one both rivals have a reason to shoot.

The Hot Zone Doubles Your Weight

Inside the Control Zone sits a smaller Hot Zone that moves around.

BULKHEAD’s Steam page pitches it as the place to earn double the cash.

According to Shacknews, a player inside it also counts as two players for control.

That math flips fights.

Ten players in the Hot Zone count as twenty, so a smaller group can out-hold a bigger one spread across the wide zone.

The same rule works against a team that ignores it.

Winning the headcount in the big circle can still lose the check if the enemy owns the small one.

Drills and Towers Move the Hot Zone

The Hot Zone is not random forever.

Shacknews reports that building a drill, delivering fuel, and activating it pulls the Hot Zone toward the drill.

Entering the full set of tower codes does the same for a tower.

That gives a team a way to yank the bonus zone away from an enemy and drag it to a position it has already fortified.

It is also why base building is part of the objective and not a side activity.

A team that owns a fortified base near the pull point controls where the fight happens.

Tower mechanics have their own breakdown in the tower codes guide.

What WARDOGS Changed From the Arma 3 Mod

The core loop is intact: three teams, one zone, buy your kit, reach 100.

The differences show up around that loop.

The mod-side details come from the developer video and the mod’s own site, so read the comparison as BULKHEAD’s framing of the differences.

The WARDOGS-side details come from the official Steam page.

The economy is the clearest shift for anyone who played the mod.

In WARDOGS every loadout is bought per life, and the balance carries into the next match.

A poor purchase costs more than a single session.

To see what that means for your wallet, read how loadout costs work and browse the WARDOGS weapons available to buy.

The progression side is covered in the progression tracks guide.

Is King of the Hill the Only Mode in WARDOGS?

For now, yes.

WARDOGS launched into Steam Early Access on September 10, 2026, and the three-team Control Zone mode is the only mode in the game.

The community wiki on Fandom also lists it as the only documented mode.

BULKHEAD has said it expects Early Access to last around one to two years.

Its plans include more maps, weapons, and vehicles, and the studio specifically mentions additional objective variations alongside them.

No specific new modes have been announced, so anything beyond that is a plan and not a promise.

It also helps to know what the mode is not.

BULKHEAD states that WARDOGS is neither a battle royale nor an extraction shooter.

Players buy a loadout, fight for the objective, die, and return.

Whether the current build is worth the price is a separate question, covered in is WARDOGS worth buying.

Tips for Winning King of the Hill in WARDOGS

The mode rewards a few habits that come straight from the rules.

• Count bodies, not kills. A kill outside the zone does not score, so the fights that matter are the ones that change who has the most players inside.
• Contest the Hot Zone with a squad. One player there counts as two, but a lone player at a crowded marker dies fast.
• Watch the third team. If two teams trade blows over the zone, the third can walk in and take the count.
• Pull the Hot Zone to ground you hold. Drills and tower codes let a team drag it toward a base it has built up, which turns building into a scoring tool.
• Earn through support. Revives and transport runs pay cash, so a support role can fund the next loadout without a single kill.
• Buy for the job. Choose the weapon, gear, and vehicle that fit your role this life, and check the weapon tier list before spending.

Key Takeaways

• The mode has a real origin. BULKHEAD built WARDOGS’ King of the Hill with Andre Zanin, the Arma 3 mod’s original creator.
• It is not a clone. The studio and the mod’s creators chose what to strengthen and what to dial back.
• Rules are simple. Up to 100 players, three teams, a 2x2 km Control Zone, first to 100 points.
• Presence scores, not kills. The team with the most players in the zone earns points on each check.
• The Hot Zone counts double. It also pays double cash, and drills or towers can pull it.
• One mode for now. Additional objective variations are planned during Early Access.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who created the WARDOGS King of the Hill mode?

BULKHEAD designed the mode for WARDOGS, building on the Arma 3 King of the Hill mod by Sa-Matra.

The mod’s original developer, Andre Zanin, works directly with the studio on WARDOGS’ version.

A second original developer, Roid Rage, is credited alongside him.

Is WARDOGS based on the Arma 3 King of the Hill mod?

Yes.

BULKHEAD says the mode is inspired by the Arma 3 community mod and that its design team spent years working with the mod’s creators.

The studio also says the goal was never to clone the mod, but to build a standalone game that goes further.

Who is Andre Zanin?

Andre Zanin is the original developer and designer of the Arma 3 King of the Hill mod, which is released under the Sa-Matra name.

In BULKHEAD’s developer video he says his Arma nickname is Somatra.

He now advises on WARDOGS’ version of the mode.

How does King of the Hill work in WARDOGS?

Up to 100 players split into three teams and fight over a randomized 2x2 km Control Zone.

The team with the most players inside earns points, and the first team to 100 points wins.

Kills do not score directly, so holding the zone matters more than frags.

What is the Hot Zone in WARDOGS?

The Hot Zone is a smaller area that moves around inside the Control Zone.

A player standing in it counts as two players toward zone control and earns double cash.

Teams can pull it toward a drill or tower they hold.

Is King of the Hill the only game mode in WARDOGS?

Yes, for now.

Early Access launched on September 10, 2026 with the three-team Control Zone mode as its only mode.

BULKHEAD has said it plans additional objective variations during Early Access, but has not published details.

Do you need to play Arma 3 King of the Hill before WARDOGS?

No.

WARDOGS is a standalone game on Steam and does not require Arma 3.

Mod veterans will recognize the structure right away, but newcomers can learn it in a match or two.

How is WARDOGS different from Arma 3 King of the Hill?

WARDOGS adds destruction, base building, and a wider set of support roles.

It also uses a persistent cash economy where every loadout is bought per life.

According to the developer video, the progression systems were reworked to go deeper than the mod’s.

How many points do you need to win a WARDOGS match?

A team needs 100 points to win.

The team with the most players in the Control Zone earns a point on each scoring check, roughly every 30 seconds.

Standing in the Hot Zone counts double toward that headcount.

Is WARDOGS a battle royale or an extraction shooter?

No.

BULKHEAD states directly that WARDOGS is neither.

It is a three-team objective mode where players buy a loadout each life, fight for the zone, and return after death.