Embodiments of the present disclosure concern oncolytic viruses, such as vaccinia virus, for example, for the treatment of cancer, wherein the viruses encode an engager molecule having an activation domain that recognizes a cell molecule, such as CD3, for example, on T cells and an antigen recognition domain that recognizes a tumor antigen, such as EphA2, HER2, GD2, or Glypican-3, for example. In some embodiments, the engager molecules further comprise a cytokine or co-stimulatory domain, for example. Methods of treating cancer using one or more of the compositions are encompassed in the disclosure.
