Blue Team Only Wins 15% of Its Wardogs Games — We Asked a Color Psychologist Why
In the free-to-play game Wardogs, Blue Team has a far lower win rate than the other two factions, despite having the same equipment and nominal chances of winning. The disparity has become a community meme, and the developers are changing a map’s spawn locations while trying to shift players’ view of Blue.
Blue’s win rate was about 10% at the height of the criticism and has recently risen to around 15%; Red wins about 36% of matches and Green 49%. The developers say Blue’s popularity among newer players in the alpha, combined with an early map disadvantage, helped the reputation take hold. Colour psychologist Karen Haller was puzzled that players skip the first team shown in the selection screen and suggested a study could explore whether changing its shade might affect choices.
- Blue Team wins about 15% of Wardogs matches.
- Red wins 36%; Green leads with 49%.
- Developers are changing spawns and trying to shift Blue’s image.
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Wardogs is a free-to-play team game in which players choose between Blue, Red and Green factions. The teams have the same equipment and are meant to have equal chances, but their recorded match results have differed.
The developers say Blue attracted many new players during the game’s alpha testing, when one map also put that team at a disadvantage. That combination helped Blue become a running joke among players, and the developers are adjusting the map’s spawn locations.
The issue matters because team reputations can affect how people choose and experience a game. Colour psychologist Karen Haller has suggested that changing Blue’s shade could be studied to see whether it influences player choices.