Events are special and limited-time game modes with unique gameplay. They revolve around four core holiday seasons of the year: Easter/April Fools, Summer, Halloween, and Christmas (April, July, October, and December). They are a staple of the game's experience and what many players will exclusively play.
While these modes are what players refer to when talking about events, other extra, smaller celebrations that the game has provided before the core event experience was properly integrated also exist. Some may call them cosmetic events, shop events, or minor events. These small additions are predominantly a series of themed cosmetics that are advertised around a map release or a holiday. They are a fun nod to holidays and celebrations without needing to develop any new content. As the game has garnered a sizable collection of cosmetics and maps, less and less content is lined up; consequently greatly reducing the number of shop events over time. This has left most celebrations of the year to the four core event seasons: Easter (April), Summer (July), Halloween (October), and Christmas (December).
Event Summaries[]
The various event modes are sorted below by relative difficulty. Cheeses may make elements of an event easier, and some optional elements of an event may be harder than the standard experience. Currently the most-difficult element of events is Route E of Christmas ZDC (see full page for details.) The mode is otherwise overall much simpler and not as difficult as ZBR.
Legacy Antidote ZDC — Difficulty: ◇◇◇◇◇(0/5)[]
Full page here
Antidote ZDC was a one-off event trialed for Halloween 2021, and the first event on the Dead End City map. It was a movement-focused mode that tasked players with the objective of collecting 7 antidotes that would drop across the map. Each antidote was only available to pick up for a small period of time before players would be forced to run to a new safe area. Some players liken the mode to a very crude Package Drop that removed the delivery aspect.
Antidote ZDC — Difficulty: ◆◆◆◆◆(5/5)[]
Full page here
Antidote ZDC is the Halloween event since 2024. It is a bit like Capture Point on the Dead End City map with a kill quota. It is a movement-focused mode that tasks players with moving to 7 zones to kill enemies. If players fail to kill enough enemies they will die. Optionally, players may also collect 7 antidotes to earn rewards. If players ignore antidotes then it is easier to win.
ZDC — Difficulty: ◆◆◆◇◇(3/5)[]
Full page here
ZDC (short for Zombie Dead City) is a a mode that transforms the standard Vehicle Escort experience by mixing it with Death Match Royale on Dead End City and making it a collaborative PvE experience. In tasks players with escorting a tank through one of five routes. Along the way, various enemies will try to stop the players. The experience differs slightly depending on if it is played during Halloween or Christmas.
ZBR — Difficulty: ◆◆◆◆◇(4/5)[]
Full page here
ZBR (short for Zombie Battle Royale) is a mode that transforms the standard Battle Royale game mode into a collaborative PvE experience. In current iterations of the mode its proper name is "Giant Bunny Royale". Players must prepare to face the hordes of zombies dressed in bunny and chick outfits by finding loot around the map, while slowly grouping up as dangerous gas comes in from the borders of the map. Within the final safe zones a giant bunny boss will support its minions. Players must kill the boss and all enemies to earn themselves a win.
ADC — Difficulty: ◆◆◆◇◇(3/5)[]
Full page here
ADC (short for Alien Dead City) is a mode that expands on the premise of ZDC. It maintains the core concepts of the mode while introducing missiles to launch, similar to Missile Launch. Players must escort the tank with a payload to each missile in order to take down the alien mothership. Players then must push the tank to the end like in ZDC.
Event Schedule[]
The current schedule of main events and their relative difficulties can be seen in the table below. It should be noted that ZDC shows twice but with different difficulties. This is because of the enemy logic between the Halloween and Christmas iterations of the mode.
| Holiday | Event | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Easter | ◆◆◆◆◇ | |
| Summer | ◆◆◆◇◇ | |
| Halloween | ◆◆◆◆◆ | |
| Christmas | ◆◆◆◇◇ |
In the past, ZBR was the only event and would repeat for Easter, Halloween, and Christmas. Since 2021, ZDC has replaced ZBR for both Halloween and Christmas; however Halloween 2022 would include both ZBR and ZDC at the same time. In 2024, Summer would be added as a fourth period of the year to expect events at with its own mode.
Cosmetic Events[]
These are minor events that showcase featured cosmetics around a map and/or holiday or celebration. They are mostly limited to an in-game banner that advertises new available cosmetics and new map (if a map is present in the update). They sometimes repeat, but are not a guaranteed annual experience like the staple four (above). Common events include: Lunar New Year, Cinco de Mayo, and St Patrick's Day. Themed outfits may only be available during these times. The Lunar New Year especially has had a history of repeating due to the Chinese Zodiacs presenting easy new cosmetic potential each year. On the extremely rare occasion, gameplay experiences may be changed such as green water for St Patrick's Day 2020.
2019 and 2020 stand as the most active years for events, with a rapid decline following. Older cosmetic events felt more engaging to players due to the free cosmetics also made available through playing the game, typically through crates. These have been mostly shelved, with no named shop event with a banner seen since 2021. A higher focus on developing playable experiences in the larger core events has taken over in addition to the considerable library of cosmetics now in the game. Some themed cosmetics may sell or be released at these times, but these are all in celebration of the larger core events rather than cosmetics advertised with an in-game banner as a small celebration and nod to the holiday and/or map.
Some early cosmetic events would take place at the same time as their counterpart core events before the core events really took off. For example, the 2020 Hallow-Steam event had a named event with a banner advertising new shop cosmetics at the same time as Halloween provided its Monster Royale (ZBR) mode. 2021 would end the double-ups and truly separate the cosmetic events to the proper events.
- 2018
- Nov 2018 | War Brokers' First Anniversary
- Dec 2018 | Winter Event 2018
- 2019
- Feb 2019 | Lunar New Year - The Year of the Pig / Valentine's Day
- Mar 2020 | St. Patrick's Day 2019
- Apr 2019 | Medieval Times
- Apr 2019 | Easter Hunt 2019
- May 2019 | Cinco de Mayo 2019
- May 2019 | Are You My Mummy?
- May 2019 | Brothers in War
- Jun 2019 | Flag Day 2019
- Jun 2019 | The Working Man
- July 2019 | Independence Day
- July 2019 | Moon Landing 50th Anniversary
- Aug 2019 | Purple Heart Day 2019
- Aug 2019 | Labor Day Event
- Sep 2019 | Storm Area 15
- Oct 2019 | Pirate Cove
- Oct 2019 | Trick or Treat 2019
- Nov 2019 | Veteran's Day 2019
- Nov 2019 | Hunting Season
- Dec 2019 | Holiday Event 2019
- 2020
- Jan 2020 | Lunar New Year 2020 - Goodbye Pig, Hello Rat
- Feb 2020 | Valentine's day 2020 - Lover or Fighter
- Mar 2020 | St. Patrick's Day 2020
- Apr 2020 | COVID-19 Awareness
- Apr 2020 | Earth Day Event 2020
- May 2020 | Cinco de Mayo 2020
- May 2020 | We Can Do It
- May 2020 | Suit Up
- Aug 2020 | Purple Heart Day 2020
- Sep 2020 | New Frontier
- Oct 2020 | Hallow-Steam 2020
- Dec 2020 | The Heist
- 2021
- Feb 2021 | Lunar New Year 2021 - Year of the Ox
- May 2021 | Cinco de Mayo 2021
- July 2021 | Space Station Event
WB First Anniversary[]
The First Anniversary event took place around November 15th, the game's anniversary. City Point released alongside a cowboy hat, welding mask, and the Biker outfit for purchase.
Winter Event 2018[]
This event occurred in December 2018. It brought two different free crates full of Christmas-themed items and added a few items in the store. This included the Ushanka, Cyan Glowing Eyes, Plague Doctor Mask, and Canadian Trooper outfit. Players earned one of the two crates at random every 45 minutes they played. From these crates, players could build the Elf, Santa, and Snowman outfits. This event also brought the release of the VSS and .50 Cal Sniper.
Valentine's Day and Year of the Pig[]
During the 2019 Lunar New Year, War Brokers celebrated with a dual event. This event celebrated both Valentine's Day and the Year of the Pig Lunar New Year. It brought back the Ushanka from Winter 2018 (at the time named Cossack hat) and introduced the Rag Doll outfit, Pig Head, Chinese Opera Mask, and Pink Glowing Eyes.
St. Patrick's Day 2019[]
The Saint Patrick's Day event brought a Steam sale with it and added a leprechaun outfit to the game. Players could earn parts of it or obtain a free emblem to match from crates earned every 45 minutes of play; the hat and beard for the leprechaun were sold in the shop. It was the first featured event since coins had been introduced to shop purchases. It was also the first event to provide a themed emblem that could be obtained for free, though this clover emblem was not exclusive to the event and could be bought separately.
A series of new default-inspired heads with different skin tones and hair colors were added to the game during this time. As they needed to be distributed, these heads were also placed into the crates to help pad the content and keep players engaged to earn the proper festive cosmetics. These heads would later become a default addition to new accounts.
The leprechaun's hat would later be replaced with a new model.
Medieval Times[]
This event took place around April Fools and included many skins from the Medieval times. Players could get Ranger uniforms, a Bard uniform, a Jester outfit, and the Wolf Cloak from crates that were given for free every 45 minutes of play. The shop would include the Knight, Rogue Cloaks, Fox Cloak, Bear Cloak, Warrior Princess outfit, and Blindfold heads.
Easter Hunt[]
This event was the first one to include actual gameplay changes. Crates would not be given for free with play, but instead were earned by killing players dressed as a bunny. To kick start the event, all staff were given the bunny outfit and set loose in the game servers. As players earned crates, they could collect both the pink bunny outfit and a yellow chick outfit. Upon completing the pink bunny outfit, that player could also wear the outfit and spread more crates around.
Cinco de Mayo[]
For Cinco de Mayo, War Brokers introduced Mexican/Wild West–themed cosmetics to buy or earn via free crates; earned every 45 minutes of player as normal. The shop included the Bandit and Cowboy outfits. Both had colored holsters and hats, while the Cowboy had a bandolier and the Bandit had a bandana. In the crates were a sombrero and the Flag Bandana. Unlike the Bandit's bandana, the Flag Bandana changed to match the appearance of the flag the player had equipped. It has since become one of the most-popular cosmetics in the game.
Are You My Mummy?[]
The Mother's Day event took place in May, with 23 female heads (16 of which were new) available during the event. Six ponytails were also now permanently available for Steam players. The biggest attraction of the event was the Mummy outfit with its Cyan Glowing Eyes. 12 of the 23 heads were sold in the shop—four sets—while the remaining 11 heads were available from crates earned every 45 minutes of play.
Brothers in War[]
The Memorial Day 2019 event included many military-type cosmetics in the shop: the Medic, Japanese Soldier, USA Navy Officer, Soviet Officer, and Wounded Heads. Every 45 minutes of play a crate could be earned to receive the Soviet Soldier outfit. While the event banner would show the Ushanka on the Soviet Soldier, it was not available during the event.
Flag Day[]
The Flag Day event was a very simple event that brought back the popular Flag Bandana as a free cosmetic for Steam owners and added the Flag Patches for free with play. The shop included the Custom Parachute for 2500
. It was an item that would allow players to use their equipped flag as their parachute. This would later become a default feature of the parachute that does not require a cosmetic.
The Working Man[]
The Father's Day event added four outfits for sale and gave players a crate every 45 minutes of play. In these crates were three heads and the Leg Knife. The shop outfits included a tracksuit designed after Rocky Balboa's training suit in the Rocky movies, an aviator outfit based on 1940s pilots, the Lumberjack outfit, and the Farmer outfit.
Independence Day[]
With this event came the Uncle Sam outfit, an addition of 11 new flags (seven of which have since been removed), and brought back the return of the popular flag items. The patches were once again free with play, while the Flag Bandana would once again be free for Steam players.
Moon Landing 50th Anniversary[]
The 50th Moon Landing Anniversary brought themed skins and the release of the Moonbase map. The shop would include the Astronaut, while Steam players would gain a new permanent Classic Astronaut uniform. Free with play were the three matching heads for the uniforms and the Orange Space Suit.
Purple Heart Day[]
The Purple Heart day event added four outfits to the shop based around US soldiers from different wars: the Spanish-American War outfit, Mexican-American War outfit, Navy Sailor outfit, and WWI outfit. Every 45 minutes of play a crate would be given to the player with six medic uniforms (two varieties) and a helmet. Medic heads to accompany the free uniforms were sold in the shop.This was the last event to feature crates earned through play.
Labor Day[]
This event focused on the American Labor Day holiday. It brought a wide range of police outfits to the store, some of which were not of an American origin. These were the Sheriff, City Cop, Rhode Island Sate Trooper, State Trooper, and London Cop.
Storm Area 15[]
The Storm Area 15 event was an event stemming from the then-popular internet meme "Storm Area 51", which consisted of a large group breaking into the Nevada Test and Training Range to liberate any potential aliens that were being held in the Facility. This event was long anticipated with tiny teasers being released for months before the event's arrival. As the event played off of the Area 51 raid meme, this created an underlying storyline for the event. Leading up to the event a series of discord posts by one of the developers told a story of a man who entered Area 15, found alien life, and was then captured.This event brought two new maps, Area 15 Base and Area 15 Bunker. The two maps line up perfectly to imply a completed map could exist where both the indoor and outdoor spaces could be explored at the same time. The shop included the Carbon Armor outfit, Secret Service Agent outfit, and Cyborg Biker outfit (based on the Biker from WB's first anniversary). A new Earth flag was available in the flags section, and the Alien Head was added as a new Steam cosmetic.
Similar to the Easter Hunt earlier in the year, players could earn a cosmetic by killing others. This time it was one cosmetic: Alien Antennae.
Pirate Cove[]
This event happened right before the Halloween event. It celebrated the release of Skull Island with two Pirates in the shop, a new Steam cosmetic—Skull Head—and gave players the Jolly Rogers Flag, aka Pirate Flag, to players who played during the event. A release of pirate cosmetics had been planned before Skull Island was worked on. Lupus, a fan who was the creator of the map, happened to make the map within close proximity to the planned cosmetics, leading to the developers incorporating the map into a larger pirate event.
Trick or Treat[]
Launching October 23, this was the first true event of the game, featuring a new game mode: Zombie Royale (ZBR). Christmas and Easter would follow suit after this event. The menu background was changed to a spooky version of The Somme. Separate to the main event, Trick or Treat provided a large collection of celebratory cosmetics. The store included the Muertos outfit, Paper Bag Head, Hockey Mask, Killer Clown Mask, Pumpkin Head, and brought back the Mummy from Mother's Day but with a new headdress (at a price increase).
Veteran's Day 2019[]
This event happened around the time of Veteran's Day 2019, a day to honor those who have served in the military. Due to the nature of the holiday, half of all proceeds were donated to the Dirt Therapy Project. This event brought new types of camo uniforms and styles which had been long requested by the public. A hat to match the default uniform was free with play while the rest of the skins were for purchase in the store. These included a Desert Camo (Brown), Snow Camo (White), Forest Camo (Dark Green), and Black Ops Camo (Black), as well as seven color speckled camos.
Hunting Season[]
This event celebrated the American holiday Thanksgiving. The shop included the Australian Hunter, Safari Hunter, and Scarecrow. It took place directly after Halloween ended.
Holiday Royale[]
Similar to the Christmas event a year prior, free crates full of Christmas-themed items were available to earn every 45 minutes of play, the first time in a while that crates had been available for playing, even if not new ones. This was also the final case for crates to be available for playing every 45 minutes; any future free with play rewards would be direct cosmetic rewards. A brand new crate would be available for the new Holiday Royale (ZBR) event game mode. These would be earned from a victory and contained cosmetics from previous events throughout the year. It also included some cosmetics that were otherwise Steam exclusives: the Alien Head, Classic Astronaut Uniform, and five of the six ponytails. The shop would feature new festive outfits: the Yeti , Nutcracker , Christmas Bunny PJs, Gingerbread Man , and Ugly Christmas Sweater.Christmas events from here on would be core events.
Lunar New Year[]
"Goodbye Pig", "Hello Rat". This Lunar New Year of 2020. A Steam sale was available. Every 45 minutes of play players could earn five pieces of gear: Pig Mask, Pig Tail, Rat Ears, Rat Tail, and Rat Nose. Upon the event's end, the Pig Mask would become a standard cosmetic for Steam owners.
Lover or Fighter[]
This event took place around Valentine's Day 2020. The event featured the first-ever user created skin, as well as a new way to show off emblems through patches that could go on a player's chest or back. Comp mode released during this update. In the shop were two skins: Cupid and the Skull Warrior. Skull Warrior was the user-made skin, made by McLrenSena. The emblem patches were available for free with play (45 minutes).
Saint Patrick's Day[]
This event took place around Saint Patrick's Day 2020. During the event all the water in the game turned green. Players could now also customize their emblem color. The event brought a new skin to the shop: the Evil Leprechaun. The Green Camo and Forest Camo from the Veteran's Day event also came back for purchase.
COVID-19 Awareness[]
This event celebrated the release of Kitchen at the beginning of April. It made a nod to the COVID-19 pandemic which had now taken the news by storm and was causing lockdowns and quarantines in various countries. A doctor with surgical gloves and a face mask was available in the shop and a biohazard emblem wasavailable free with play. As it was also the April Fools period, the Jester from 2019 made a return to the shop with an all new head.
Easter 2020[]
The Easter event brought five animal heads to the shop and a brand new emblem that would be limited to the event. These heads were the Pug Head, Owl Head, Cat Head plus accompanying Cat Ears, Gorilla Head, and the Sloth Head. The emblem was based on an inside-joke within the WB community of the word "Siib", which stands for "soon". Free with play was an emblem patch for the arm.ZBR was returned for the third time now in its newest Giant Bunny Royale form, which added a Boss. This would become the staple Easter experience, with all future Easter celebrations being full events.
Earth Day[]
This event took place right after Easter. During the event the Stone Golem skin was available for purchase in the store. Free with play was the Recycle emblem, another new and limited emblem. Both it and the Siib emblem are the only two event emblems that have been limited to one event. The Globe Head was added as a new staple Steam cosmetic.
Cinco de Mayo[]
This event took place around 2020's Cinco De Mayo (May 5th). During the event the Bandit and Cowboy from the previous year's Cinco De Mayo event came back for purchase alongside the new Mariachi Singer, Skull Luchador, and the Blue Luchador outfits. The three new outfits were fan-made outfits created by McLrenSena. If players won a Battle Royale match during the event they were awarded the Poncho. The Sombrero also came back free with play. This event also marked the beginning of a new default player look: the default player head was changed so that the eyebrows and mouth were slightly less squared.This was the last cosmetic event to provide free cosmetics with play.
We Can Do It[]
This event celebrated Mother's Day 2020. It included two new female outfits, three new wings, and brought a return of the ponytails. The outfits were: Rosie The Riveter and GI Jane. The wings were: Dragonfly Wings, Monarch Wings, and Fairy Wings.
Suit Up[]
This event took place around Memorial Day 2020. With it came 3 new skins with variants and the return of the Secret Service Agent. The store was filled with the Secret Agent, Gangster Boss, and Gangster Minion outfits. There was also a new map introduced for comp mode: Dwarf Dungeon.
Purple Heart Day[]
This event took place around 2020's Purple Heart Day. The Commando, made by McLrenSena and updated by Silk Spider, sold in the store for 1400 coins. The Tactical Visor, made by The WarBrokers Wiseman and updated by Silk Spider, was a new permanent Steam cosmetic.
New Frontier[]
This event took place in September of 2020. It was set around the Wild West theme of the newly released Frontier map. With the event came a new outfit, the Frontiersman, and the return of three older ones: Mexican-American Soldier, Bad Bandit, and Good Cowboy. These were all available for purchase in the store. The Flag Bandana returned as well and became a permanent Steam cosmetic.
Hallow-Steam[]
This event launched on October 27 with the fourth ZBR inclusion, and closing the loop of the first year of ZBR events. This would set the standard for events now that it was a guaranteed experience that would repeat each year. While no Boss was added like with Giant Bunny Royale, this event did change things up by bringing large enemy diversity. Rather than Zombie Royale, this year would be Monster Royale.
Advertised through the event banner were three outfits: Plague Doctor, Jekyll Hyde, and Steampunk Woman. Set as new Steam defaults were three mustache heads originally obtained from the Safari Hunter outfit. This would be the last year Steam would receive any new bundled cosmetics.
The Heist[]
The Heist was an event that began December 19, 2020. It celebrated the addition of the Heist map to War Brokers. Similarly-themed skins were available in the store: The Professionals, Siib Agent, and Thief. These outfits were sold partly into the Christmas event update.
Lunar New Year[]
The Lunar New Year 2021 event featured two fan-made skins: the Taurus Maximus (Ox) and the Lunar Vanquisher. They were both created by Maxbros to commemorate the year of the ox.
Cinco de Mayo[]
The 2021 Cinco de Mayo event featured all the same cosmetics as the 2020 Cinco de Mayo event with the addition of the Sugar Skull Heads. This meant a large collection of: the Bandit, Cowboy, Mariachi Singer, Skull Luchador, and the Blue Luchador. The Poncho and Sombrero made a return as a bundled purchase this year.
Space Station Event[]
The last of cosmetic events. While some themed cosmetics would still release, no specific advertising of them were made. The Space Station Event included two outfits: the Mars Astronaut (a.k.a. Star Pilot) and Dark Matter. Both were sold for 350 coins in the store as Epic rarity. Both were fan-made by McLrenSena and Maxbros respectively. The Carbon Fiber Armor and the Astronaut also made a return to sell this event. This event celebrated the release of Space Station made by McLrenSena.
Other Events[]
Other minor game updates centered around a celebration are few and far between. To date there has only been one case: April Fool's Day 2023. Players in Classic would have their bodies ragdoll towards the sky with reversed gravity. This small April Fool's joke caused many bug reports to flow in as players thought the game had a new bug. It was only available to see for the one day. As this was in the same update that brought the Easter ZBR event, some players that were busy with the event would not see this fun joke because the reversed gravity corpse effect was not applied to other modes like ZBR.
Easter and April Fool's are so close to each other and so most celebrations go towards Easter and its ZBR. Sometimes the Easter ZBR release happens on April 1. The term "Easter Fools" has sometimes been used due to this. Easter Fools 2022 was quite poetic with its release of the Rubber Chicken. This was a meme weapon within the community for years, a common joke for an ultimate weapon. It was a perfect weapon to be released for an April Fool's Day update due to the day's theme of jokes, just as it was perfect for Easter as a holiday season that places a focus on eggs and chicks.