WARDOGS vs Arma Reforger: Full Shooter Comparison Guide

Picking between two large-scale military shooters usually means picking between hype and history.

WARDOGS just launched into Steam Early Access with 100-player, three-faction battles built on Unreal Engine 5.

Arma Reforger has spent years building a tactical milsim following with deep modding and console crossplay. Here’s how the two actually compare, feature by feature.

Table of Contents

• WARDOGS vs Arma Reforger at a Glance
• Same Roots, Different Wars
• Platforms and Crossplay
• Player Count, Teams and Match Pace
• Combat, Vehicles and Destruction
• Cash, Supplies and Progression
• Price and Editions
• Modding and Long-Term Content
• Which One Should You Play?
• Key Takeaways
• FAQ

WARDOGS vs Arma Reforger at a Glance

Same Roots, Different Wars

Before comparing features, it helps to know these two games aren’t strangers.

Both trace back to King of the Hill, a community-made Arma 3 mission built by Andrey “Sa-Matra” Zanin, where players earn cash mid-match to buy their own gear and vehicles while fighting over a single objective.

WARDOGS didn’t just borrow the idea.

BULKHEAD built the game in direct collaboration with Sa-Matra, with lead developer Joe Brammer saying the studio knew from the start it needed to work with King of the Hill’s original creators to evolve the format into a standalone title.

Arma Reforger never officially adopted King of the Hill as a built-in mode, but the concept lives on there too.

Bohemia Interactive’s own Workshop hosts fan-made King of the Hill recreations built for Reforger’s newer maps, so the DNA runs through both games even though only one was designed around it from day one.

Platforms and Crossplay

This is often the deciding factor before anything else gets compared.

WARDOGS is PC-only through Steam at launch.

BULKHEAD has confirmed PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions, but not until 2028, well after the Early Access period wraps up.

Arma Reforger already runs on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, with full crossplay between all three. It’s one of the few genuine milsim-style experiences available on console at all.

If your squad is spread across PC and console today, Arma Reforger is the only one of the two you can actually play together right now.

Player Count, Teams and Match Pace

WARDOGS puts up to 100 players into three competing mercenary factions of 33 players each. Matches revolve around a randomly generated 2x2 km control zone inside a much larger 256 km² map.

The team holding the most players inside that zone earns points, and the first side to reach 100 points wins. Because the zone relocates and shrinks the fight into one area, WARDOGS plays fast, loud and constantly in motion.

Arma Reforger’s flagship Conflict mode supports up to 128 players split between US and Soviet factions, with an AI-controlled third faction (FIA) contesting the middle ground.

Instead of one moving hotspot, Conflict spreads the fight across an entire island, and taking a single base can take considerably longer than a full WARDOGS round.

Reforger rewards patience and logistics planning. WARDOGS rewards constant repositioning and quick decisions.

Combat, Vehicles and Destruction

WARDOGS leans into large-scale, arcade-adjacent combined arms combat.

Players can pilot helicopters, drive armored vehicles, and fight across environments that break apart as the battle grinds on, including destructible buildings.

Base building is part of the core loop too.

Squads can fortify captured ground with defensive structures paid for through the in-match cash economy. Fighter jets and some other vehicle types are on BULKHEAD’s roadmap but aren’t part of the game at Early Access launch.

Arma Reforger takes a more grounded, period-accurate approach.

Its Cold War weapon and vehicle roster is deliberately smaller than mainline Arma 3, focused on infantry weapons, trucks, armored personnel carriers and helicopters rather than jets or tracked heavy vehicles.

Base building also exists in Reforger’s Conflict mode, but it’s tied to a supply-and-logistics system built around trucking materials to the front line rather than a straightforward cash purchase.

Cash, Supplies and Progression

Both games use an economy instead of a traditional unlock tree, but they spend it differently.

In WARDOGS, every player has an individual cash balance that rises and falls with kills, objectives and equipment purchases.

Buy a helicopter and lose it, and that loss comes directly out of your own wallet. There is no shop, no battle pass and no loot box during Early Access, by BULKHEAD’s own design.

In Arma Reforger, resources are shared at the faction level rather than the individual level. Supplies are stockpiled at command tents and depots, then physically driven to the front by players acting as logistics runners.

Radio signal range, extended by capturing relay towers, determines where your faction can even respawn or build. It’s a slower, more collective kind of resource management than WARDOGS’ personal cash balance.

Price and Editions

WARDOGS launched its Early Access Standard Edition at $39.99, with an optional $49.99 Supporter Edition that adds weapon and helicopter camos, a scoreboard icon and two cosmetic bobbleheads.

BULKHEAD has said the base price will climb in stages, first to $49.99 later in Early Access and then to roughly $59.99 at full 1.0 release, so the current price is deliberately the lowest it will ever be.

Arma Reforger is a flat $39.99 one-time purchase on Steam and console storefronts, with no planned price increase tied to a development roadmap since it already left Early Access.

Dollar for dollar, both games cost the same to get into today.

The difference is that WARDOGS’ price is a temporary discount tied to its development stage, while Reforger’s is its settled, permanent price.

Modding and Long-Term Content

Arma Reforger’s biggest structural advantage is its Workshop.

Bohemia Interactive ships official modding tools, provides dedicated server files, and has run prize-funded contests specifically to grow community-made content.

That’s a big part of why Arma servers stay populated years after release.

WARDOGS doesn’t have that yet.

As a brand-new Early Access title, BULKHEAD hasn’t released public dedicated server files or modding tools, and community hosting is currently limited to approved partners rather than open to anyone.

BULKHEAD has said Early Access will run roughly one to two years, with more maps, vehicle types and systems planned during that window, but the mod and server ecosystem Arma built over a decade doesn’t exist for WARDOGS yet.

Which One Should You Play?

Choose WARDOGS if you want fast, high-player-count objective combat on PC, don’t mind rough edges typical of Early Access, and like the idea of a cash economy with real stakes attached to every vehicle you buy.

Choose Arma Reforger if you want a slower, more tactical milsim experience, need console or crossplay support, or want access to a mature modding scene and the ability to run your own dedicated server today.

Plenty of players will end up owning both. WARDOGS suits a fast night of three-way warfare, while Arma Reforger suits a longer, more deliberate operation with a squad that wants to plan rather than sprint.

Key Takeaways

• WARDOGS and Arma Reforger both grew out of the same Arma 3 mod, King of the Hill, but only WARDOGS was built with its original creator.
• WARDOGS supports 100 players across three teams; Arma Reforger supports up to 128 across two factions plus AI.
• Arma Reforger is available on PC, Xbox and PlayStation with crossplay; WARDOGS is PC-only until at least 2028.
• Both cost $39.99 right now, but WARDOGS’ price is scheduled to rise as it leaves Early Access.
• Arma Reforger has a mature Workshop and dedicated server support; WARDOGS doesn’t have public server files or mod tools yet.
• WARDOGS plays faster and more arcade-leaning; Arma Reforger plays slower and more simulation-focused.

FAQ

Is WARDOGS the same as Arma?

No, but they’re closely related. WARDOGS is a standalone game built by BULKHEAD in collaboration with the creators of Arma 3’s King of the Hill mod. It shares that mod’s three-team, cash-driven concept but runs on Unreal Engine 5 instead of Bohemia Interactive’s Enfusion engine, and plays faster and less simulation-heavy than mainline Arma.

Is WARDOGS on console like Arma Reforger?

Not yet. WARDOGS launched into Steam Early Access on PC only, with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions planned for 2028. Arma Reforger has been on PC, Xbox and PlayStation with crossplay since 2023.

How many players can play at once in WARDOGS vs Arma Reforger?

WARDOGS splits up to 100 players across three teams of 33 on a single map. Arma Reforger’s Conflict mode supports up to 128 players on one server, though most public servers run smaller counts.

Does WARDOGS have microtransactions?

BULKHEAD has confirmed there will be no in-game monetization during Early Access other than the optional Supporter Edition, which only adds cosmetic camos and scoreboard icons. There is no item shop or battle pass.

How much does Arma Reforger cost compared to WARDOGS?

Arma Reforger is a one-time $39.99 purchase on Steam. WARDOGS launched at the same $39.99 Early Access price, though BULKHEAD has said that price will rise in stages, first to $49.99 and then to around $59.99 at the game’s full 1.0 release.

Is Arma Reforger the same as Arma 3?

No. Arma Reforger is a separate, more streamlined game built on Bohemia Interactive’s newer Enfusion engine, positioned as a bridge between Arma 3 and the upcoming Arma 4. Arma 3 is over a decade old and still has a larger modding library, but Arma Reforger runs better on modern hardware and supports crossplay.

Does Arma Reforger support mods like Arma 3?

Yes. Arma Reforger ships with an official Workshop, and Bohemia Interactive has actively funded community mod development, including prize-backed modding contests. Its mod scene is younger than Arma 3’s but growing quickly.

What is the King of the Hill connection between WARDOGS and Arma Reforger?

Both games trace back to King of the Hill, a community-made Arma 3 mission by Andrey “Sa-Matra” Zanin, where players earn cash to buy gear while fighting over a single objective. WARDOGS was built in direct collaboration with Sa-Matra as a standalone evolution of that concept. Arma Reforger never officially adopted King of the Hill, but its own Workshop hosts fan-made recreations of the mode.

Which game has more content right now?

Arma Reforger has years of updates, an established Workshop and a large mod catalog behind it. WARDOGS just entered Early Access and is still building out maps, vehicles and systems, with BULKHEAD planning one to two years of active development before a full release.

Can I run my own WARDOGS server the way I can with Arma Reforger?

Not yet. Bohemia Interactive ships official dedicated server files for Arma Reforger, so community hosting is widely available. BULKHEAD has not released public server files for WARDOGS, so hosting options are limited during early Early Access.

Is WARDOGS worth buying during Early Access?

That depends on your tolerance for unfinished games. WARDOGS ships with its core 100-player, three-team loop playable, but BULKHEAD itself has published a video called “reasons not to buy WARDOGS” encouraging players to watch gameplay first. Players who want a settled, content-complete experience may prefer to wait, while players who enjoy shaping a game’s early development have more reason to jump in now. For a deeper breakdown, see our full buy-or-wait verdict.