The popular multiplayer shooter Wardogs is drawing significant player counts with a focus on teamwork and "all-out warfare," a success largely attributed to its server browser. This feature, which allows players to select official and community-hosted servers based on criteria like player count, ping, and game modes, stands in stark contrast to the approach taken by Battlefield 6.
Wardogs presents players with a clear list of available servers, sortable by various metrics. Notably, it prominently features community servers from third-party providers. This setup offers players a level of choice and control that many modern multiplayer games, including Battlefield 6, have foregone in favor of automated matchmaking.
While DICE initially promoted Battlefield 6's "Portal" server browser, it fell short of expectations. At launch, Portal servers were plagued by bugs and dominated by XP farming lobbies, failing to offer a compelling alternative to the game's core matchmaking. The system's limitations, such as the inability to support third-party server providers and only allowing for semi-persistent lobbies, contributed to a decline in interest. This has left a void that Wardogs and other similar titles have effectively filled.
When questioned about the lack of a comprehensive server browser in Battlefield 6, DICE lead producer David Sirland cited the speed and efficiency of matchmaking servers as a primary reason, suggesting that manual server selection could lead to longer wait times and queuing issues. However, Wardogs demonstrates that a robust server browser can function effectively, even with a large player base. The game's multitude of official and community servers ensures that players can find open slots and join matches with minimal delay, with frequent player turnover preventing long queues.
The benefits of community-hosted servers are significant. They allow for faster moderation of cheaters and griefers, and can foster unique social spaces with dedicated communities and custom rulesets. Wardogs' approach, while not groundbreaking and still in its early access phase, provides essential features like favoriting and tiered queuing are still in development. Nevertheless, its server browser is a more legitimate offering than Battlefield 6's community server support, suggesting that major titles could learn from the success of smaller, community-focused shooters.