Inspired by the likes of Mad Max, car combat roleplaying games started appearing in the 1980s, most notably Car Wars and Dark Future. But on a computer or console it opens up a whole new world of opportunities, as shown by turn-based War on Wheels announced for the PC in 2026.
It’s developed by Irish indie studio Psychic Software, who have been running vehicle combat MMO Darkwind since 2006. And War on Wheels is built on the same foundation, including the feedback from more than 120,000 players over almost two decades.
The result is a simultaneous turn-based, physics-controlled game where you need to use terrain, speed and momentum as much as your weapons and armour, controlling multiple vehicles. You’ll need to survive in the year 2100, seventy-five years after the Earth was devastated by a solar catastrophe.
Obviously you’ll be able to build and upgrade your cars with different chassis, weapons and armour as you go through a single-player campaign involving contacts, looting enemies and navigating the politics of the Badland as you manage your private company. But there’s also online multiplayer deathracing combat to enjoy, along with clan-run leagues for more long-term challenges.
War on Wheels is being developed for the PC, and will launch on Steam with other platforms planned to follow in the future, and a demo arriving some time in 2026.
Worth checking out for something different?
While it’s not sim racing, War on Wheels seems like it might be worth checking out if you ever played tabletop games like Car Wars, Gaslands or Dark Future. Or games including Interstate 76, Autoduel and obviously Darkwind.
And having dabbled in the likes of Crossout, as well as turn-based and real-time strategy games, I can see how something like War on Wheels could be a lot of fun, requiring some thought about car handling without relying on having to drive and shoot the whole time.
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