The WAR! Update was a class update for the Demoman and the Soldier. It was the second multi-class patch, and was the sixth major content pack released.
The WAR! Update differed from previous updates by including two competitions, operating inside and outside the game. The first was announced at the start of the update; a kill tracker appeared in the HUD of anybody playing as a Demoman or Soldier, with the counter increasing each time they (as a Soldier) killed an enemy Demoman or they (as a Demoman) killed an enemy Soldier. The personal totals of each player were added to a mass tally, and with each day of the update a running total score for each side was displayed on the update page. The Soldier won with 6,406,065 total kills to the Demoman's 6,372,979, granting the Soldier the prize of an extra unlockable weapon, the Gunboats.
The second competition was the Propaganda Contest. Users were encouraged to design propaganda posters for the side of their choice, supporting either the BLU Soldier or RED Demoman. The posters were then submitted to Valve to be judged through the Propaganda Contest website. The three leading prizes were later revealed to be J.Axer's Dapper Topper, Amber's Rad As All Hell Hat, and Uncle Sam (for first, second, and third place respectively).
The Verdict
◎
Audience
Made primarily for young men (83).
◈
Reach
Has targeted appeal — designed for a specific demographic segment.
◇
Advocacy
Entertainment (0/100) — content choices prioritize storytelling over messaging.
◉
Representation
lower hispanic (28) and black (26) and white (1) representation.
How strongly this title appeals to males 18–34. Based on genre, cast, action/violence levels, pacing, and marketing signals. Higher = stronger appeal.
Young Women
32
How strongly this title appeals to females 18–34. Based on genre, romance centrality, cast composition, lead demographics, and tone. Higher = stronger appeal.
Older Men
68
How strongly this title appeals to males 35+. Based on theme maturity, pacing, complexity, genre, and production style. Higher = stronger appeal.
Older Women
17
How strongly this title appeals to females 35+. Based on drama elements, character complexity, genre, cast, and emotional themes. Higher = stronger appeal.
Advocacy0
Entertainment
Audience Representation
White
1
Measures deviation from the expected White representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Black
26
Measures deviation from the expected Black representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Hispanic
28
Measures deviation from the expected Hispanic representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Asian
38
Measures deviation from the expected Asian representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
South Asian
46
Measures deviation from the expected South Asian representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Middle Eastern
48
Measures deviation from the expected Middle Eastern representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Indigenous
48
Measures deviation from the expected Indigenous representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Mixed
42
Measures deviation from the expected Mixed representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Other
48
Measures deviation from the expected Other representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
LGBTQ+
0
LGBTQ+ representation score based on character centrality, cast percentage, lead representation, and source fidelity. 0 = no representation, 100 = central to the story.