Retro Rail Go! Developer Responds to Plagiarism Criticism
The statement reveals how a small developer from a developing country, inspired by nostalgia for Japanese train games, is navigating accusations of plagiarism while weighing the risk of legal action against the viability of their first Steam release.
Reporting from 2 sources: Automaton, Game Spark.
The developer of the retro train simulator Retro Rail Go! issued a statement addressing accusations that the game is a rip-off of Densha de GO!. The developer says the game was never intended to infringe copyright and aims for a nostalgic yet unique experience. They noted the demo's wishlist count rose from 700 to about 2,000 in 48 hours, but the plagiarism criticism has been disheartening enough to consider abandoning the project.
The developer of Retro Rail Go!, a retro-style train driving simulator on Steam, has responded to criticism that the game is a clone of the long-running Densha de GO! series. In a statement issued through the game's Steam page, Barely Making Games said the project was never intended as a rip-off or copyright infringement. The developer, who grew up in a developing country and had limited access to Japanese games, said they wanted to create an affordable, multilingual train sim for a global audience. The statement also addressed the use of generative AI art in the demo, explaining it was a temporary measure to meet the Steam Next Fest deadline, and that a professional artist has been commissioned for the final version.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.