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Wages of War: The Business of Battle
user avatarAdded by @the_Vomacht

Wages of War: The Business of Battle

by Random Games, New World Computing
Genres:Strategy
Story:
A top-down turn-based strategy game.
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user avatar@BlackSeven_B7user avatar@BlackSeven_B7
April 25, 2025
Such a good alternative to Jagged Alliance! Carefully crafted missions that never played out the same way. Although I loved the more serious take they had, the amount "sprained ankles" was somewhat exaggerated. Still a great game if you can run it at the correct speed.
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user avatar@JasonMiaouser avatar@JasonMiao
April 05, 2026
I never even heard of this game until a few days ago. I loved the original Jagged Alliance, though, and this game looks like it could have had a place on my shelf back in the day, if had I tried it. Someone on YouTube called axelord1942 [GOG won't let me post a link, so you'll have to search for the video yourself] claims he got the game to work from the CD files. Part of the video explains the process of getting it to work on a modern OS. Although I can't vote for this one in good conscience (since I've never played it), maybe the fact that someone has already put in the work of getting it to run will help encourage GOG to put in the resources in an "easy win" for preservation, if you guys make enough noise about it.
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user avatar@snpr1user avatar@snpr1
December 16, 2025
Great game! Fun to play and the firearms and equipment loadouts were spot on for the time. The game was easy to learn and the same missions would play out different each time. It was a good game!
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user avatar@Stonewall_Stalinuser avatar@Stonewall_Stalin
April 05, 2026
ive never gotten to play this game but after watching a video about it, i think i would love to give this game several hundred hours of my time. if not thousands
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user avatar@Pretiacruentouser avatar@Pretiacruento
April 11, 2026
Axelord1942's fantastic video brought me here. Most of today's modern games, they’re too clean. They smell like a floor that’s been scrubbed with lemon-scented poison. They have no soul, just polished code (or rehashed UE5 slop) and the hollow ring of microtransactions. Then you look at "Wages of War." A relic from 1996, left to rot in the back of a drawer like a forgotten rent check. It’s a beautiful kind of ugly, it's got the "so bad it's good" kinda jank. You’re trapped in a 90s office with a fax machine that spits out death warrants and an accountant who hates your guts. It’s about the business of battle (hah)! managing mercenaries who sprain their ankles on the way to the kill. Your revolvers jam, the pay is low, and the stakes are just as grimy as the graphics. It’s a breath of fresh air because it smells like old man sweat and cheap gas station coffee. It doesn't care if you like it. It doesn't hold your hand. It’s a raw, jagged edge of a game that shows the world as it is - a series of contracts where someone always loses. We NEED this game back. Not for the pixels, the repetitive MIDIs, but to remember what it’s like to have a game that’s got a bit of real dirt under its fingernails. Give it to us raw. Let the fax machine run one more time!
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user avatar@SpectrumRideruser avatar@SpectrumRider
March 15, 2026
Dear GOG Team and Community, I would love for Wages of War: The Business of Battle to finally make its way to GOG. Right after Jagged Alliance, this game was my second favorite of all time. The way you lived and bonded with your mercenaries — their personalities, moods, stories and the way the whole team felt alive — was absolutely fantastic. The equipment and weapons system was simply phenomenal; so many guns, attachments, different ammo types and customization options that it still feels impressive today. It was the perfect blend of deep squad management, tense turn-based tactics and the thrill of actually running your own private military company. A true underrated classic from 1998 that deserves proper preservation and a new audience. GOG, with its love for classics and DRM-free philosophy, would be the absolute perfect home for it. Please consider adding this hidden gem to the store — a lot of old fans (including me) would be over the moon! Best regards, A dedicated fan
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user avatar@trusteftuser avatar@trusteft
April 12, 2026
A wonderful turn based strategy game set in the theme of controlling a mercenary group getting jobs and doing all you had to. Unfortunately they don't make them like this any more. Well, I guess the closest one is the Mechwarrior game that was released few years ago. I hope it arrives here. I have it on disc since I bought it when it was new, but I would love to have a GOG version of it too.
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user avatar@neonthefox321user avatar@neonthefox321
April 17, 2026
Saw a video by axelord1942 on this game. I would love to play a game where I run my own mercenary company, and this looks up my alley. Kind of surprised it hasnt already been added.
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user avatar@F3lixMller1999user avatar@F3lixMller1999
April 12, 2026
This looks like one of the coolest game ideas I have seen in a while. I had no Idea this game existed before watching @axelord1942´s video on it. Now I really want to play it. :D
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user avatar@axelord1942user avatar@axelord1942
April 18, 2026
I could have sworn there was another version of this page up at some point in the past, and I'm fairly certain I left a post there as well. I have been all over the Internet in the last 14/15 years gathering information on how to fix this game for modern systems, and trying to spread awareness about it. I even reached out to the devs, although some of them are in their 60s and 70s 😅 I'm still shocked at how positive the response to the game is, and it shows that's there's still a market for games like these. I've done all one man can do, including becoming the Project Lead on an engine restoration project. Ball's in your court now, GoG.
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