Train Sim World (abbreviated to TSW) is a train simulation game series developed by Dovetail Games. It was released on 24 July 2018. For the first time, Train Sim World allows players to walk around the game world in a first-person mode. This mode is utilised in tutorials, scenarios and services where the first-person mode is required to complete tasks such as refuelling, navigating, doing different types of train driving services, or changing switches.
On 20 April 2023, Dovetail Games, the developer of the Train Sim World franchise, was purchased by Focus Entertainment, a French game publisher.
Releases
Train Sim World: CSX Heavy Haul
During beta release, the game was originally called Train Sim World: CSX Heavy Haul, which consisted of one playable route, Sand Patch Grade, based in the United States.
Train Sim World: Founders Edition
The second version was Founders Edition, which was available on Xbox One, containing Great Western Express.
Train Sim World
The third version, simply Train Sim World, was available on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, featuring three routes: Great Western Express: London Paddington–Reading, Rapid Transit: Dessau Hbf–Markkleeberg-Gaschwitz, and Northeast Corridor: New Rochelle–Newark Liberty International Airport, as well as Sand Patch Grade for the Windows version only.
Train Sim World 2020
The fourth version, Train Sim World 2020, is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, featuring four routes: Great Western Express, Long Island Rail Road (Penn Station to Hicksville, Hempstead Branch, Atlantic Terminal, Belmont), Main-Spessart Bahn (Aschaffenburg Hbf to Gemünden (Main)), and Northern Trans-Pennine (Manchester Victoria to Leeds route add-on), as well as Sand Patch Grade for Windows only. The 2020 edition featured a Digital Deluxe edition containing a bonus route containing Caltrain's Peninsula Corridor (San Francisco 4th and King Street to San Jose Diridon route add-on).
On 12 December 2019, Dovetail Games released the East Coastway add-on. In addition to the Brighton to Eastbourne route, there is a branch route between Lewes and Seaford. The release includes the Class 377/4 and the Class 66. Further add-on routes included Rhein-Ruhr Osten (Wuppertal Hbf to Hagen Hbf), Ruhr-Sieg Nord (Hagen Hbf to Finnentrop), Haupstrecke Rhein-Ruhr (Bochum Hbf to Duisburg Hbf), Tees Valley Line (Darlington to Saltburn), West Somerset Railway (Minehead to Bishops Lydeard), and Canadian National Oakville Subdivision. Several individual locomotives were also released as downloadable content (DLC), including the Class 20 Chopper and the former East German DB BR 143 and DB BR 155.
Train Sim World 2
The fifth version, Train Sim World 2, was announced on 9 June 2020, with an original planned release date of 6 August 2020. The announcement promoted new features, including the Livery Editor and Scenario Designer. There were two new routes and multiple trains planned for its release: the ICE 3M and Talent 2 running from Köln Hbf to Aachen Hbf, branded as Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen, and the London Underground 1972 Stock, with the Bakerloo line. The game also comes with Sand Patch Grade route (Cumberland–Rockwood), featuring the following locomotives: AC4400CW, GP38-2, SD40-2. While the route is not new, it has been updated for Windows and now also available on consoles PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with major optimization to the consoles. The Deluxe Edition also includes East Coastway as a Preserved Collection route.
The Preserved Collection allows players to import their previously owned Train Sim World and Train Sim World 2020 bundled routes and DLC into the new game. This means players can continue using them without the need to pay for them again. Dovetail Games announced the game would be delayed on 16 July, with a rescheduled release date of 20 August, from the original 6 August. This was to allow them to make "Preserved Collection" add-ons compatible with their new Scenario Designer. They confirmed that content from this category will not be compatible with their new Livery Designer, due to a change in the way they develop trains, although such compatibility might be provided in a future upgrade (this has since been confirmed; Livery Designer compatibility for East Coastway was included in a February 2021 patch, with more routes to follow). They also announced within one of their Community Q&A livestreams that their Northeast Corridor route add-on, as well as their Amtrak SW1000R and CSX GP40-2 loco addons were not going to be part of the "Preserved Collection" due to technical issues.