WARDOGS developer Bulkhead has begun restricting cross-region play, tightening its maximum server ping to 175ms while working on a more comprehensive region-locking system. The change follows weeks of player complaints about high-ping users joining servers outside their home regions, alongside persistent accusations of cheating, cheat advertising, and disruptive server behavior.
Bulkhead announced the latest move on Oct. 21, saying it had “begun the process of controlling regions” and wanted to protect the largest number of players from regions it considers more prone to cheating.
The reaction has been predictably divided. Many players have spent weeks demanding stricter restrictions, while others argue the solution risks punishing legitimate international groups without fixing the cheating problem that pushed players across regions in the first place.
WARDOGS Drops Its Ping Limit to 175ms
Season 2 introduced region-based ping limits on Oct. 15, allowing official servers to automatically remove players who consistently exceeded their regional maximum. Short spikes and server-side lag aren’t counted, while players removed for high latency can’t immediately rejoin the same server.
Those initial restrictions were deliberately lenient. Players reported official servers allowing latency as high as 250ms, prompting criticism that the limit did little to prevent cross-region play. Bulkhead is now lowering the maximum to 175ms as an immediate measure.
The studio says backend region locking is also being developed but isn’t as simple as activating a switch. That means WARDOGS hasn’t yet introduced a blanket country-by-country geographic ban; the current system primarily limits which official servers players can realistically access based on latency.
Community servers remain more flexible, with administrators able to choose their own ping restrictions and potentially allow cross-region groups.
Players Have Been Asking for Region Locks for Weeks
The issue has been building almost since WARDOGS launched into Steam Early Access. By late September, the main WARDOGS subreddit had created a dedicated region-lock and ping-cap megathread because of the number of posts discussing high-latency players on North American and European servers.
Complaints intensified during October. Players reported seeing users connecting from distant regions with latency well above 150ms, arguing that lag compensation could create frustrating firefights even when cheating wasn’t involved. Others connected the issue directly with cheating. Posts across Reddit and Steam have complained about aimbots, wallhacks, cheat advertisements and alleged DDoS incidents.
Bulkhead already operates client- and server-side anti-cheat systems, behavioral detection and account bans, but its latest statement makes clear that regional controls are now being treated as another layer of protection.
The problem also comes as WARDOGS tries to maintain momentum in a crowded military-shooter market that includes games such as Battlefield 6, making stable matchmaking and competitive integrity particularly important.
Some Players Think 175ms Is Still Too High
For players who wanted restrictions, the most common criticism is that Bulkhead hasn’t gone far enough. One of the most upvoted reactions to the announcement argued that 175ms remains too high and suggested a limit closer to 120ms. Others described the new cap as an improvement over 250ms but still insufficient to prevent players from reaching distant servers.
However, some WARDOGS players regularly join other regions to play with friends, communicate in a preferred language, or because local server populations are lower. A stricter ping limit can prevent those groups from playing together even when nobody involved is cheating.
Australian and Asian players have raised particular concerns because geographic distance can produce high latency even when connecting to the closest viable populated server. One player living in Japan, for example, previously explained that they generally use American servers because communication is easier despite playing at around 130ms.
Region Locking Doesn’t Solve the Underlying Cheating Problem
Another part of the community argues that regional restrictions are treating the symptom rather than the cause. Some legitimate Asian players say they moved to North American or European servers specifically to escape cheating and disruption closer to home. Restricting those players could leave them with fewer alternatives while doing nothing to remove cheaters from their regional servers.
That tension has also produced some ugly discussion around nationality. Moderators on WARDOGS communities have repeatedly warned users to separate criticism of cheating and high latency from attacks against players based on nationality or ethnicity.
The situation highlights the balancing act facing developers of persistent multiplayer games. Bungie, for example, has similarly been making significant changes to Marathon based on player feedback around matchmaking, progression and long-term engagement.
The Last Word
Region restrictions may improve WARDOGS matches for players tired of fighting opponents with extremely high latency, and the response shows that a sizable part of the community has wanted something like this for weeks.
However, the 175ms cap also exposes how complicated the problem really is. International friend groups and legitimate players escaping troubled local servers can be caught alongside the people Bulkhead is trying to keep out. The studio’s eventual backend region-locking system may provide more precise controls, but regional restrictions alone won’t eliminate cheating. The real test will be whether tighter server boundaries improve match quality without simply moving the underlying problem elsewhere.
Featured Image Credit
Image via Steam
