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Realistic Train Sim 'RUNNING TRAIN | 走ル列車!' Launches in Early Access on Steam

The game's rapid achievement of a 'Very Positive' Steam rating and its support for multiple master controllers signal that a solo developer can deliver a polished train sim that competes with larger studio titles in the niche railway simulation market.

Key Facts

  • Novatetsu Games released 'RUNNING TRAIN | 走ル列車!' on Steam Early Access on May 25, 2026, priced at 2,980 yen with a 10% launch discount until June 1.
  • The game features two fictional routes totaling 40 km: the coastal Hayamori Railway Sanyama Main Line and the rural Takafuku Railway Fukugawa Line, with four train types based on real vehicles.
  • It has a 'Very Positive' Steam rating with 98% positive reviews from about 370 reviews.
  • The game natively supports the Zuiki Master Controller, Zuiki Master Controller PRO, and Densha de GO! Controller, and includes an automatic driving function and photo mode.

Reporting from 6 sources: 4Gamer.net, Automaton, Denfaminicogamer, ASCII.jp, and 2 more.

Realistic Train Sim 'RUNNING TRAIN | 走ル列車!' Launches in Early Access on Steam

Novatetsu Games released the early access version of the railway simulation game 'RUNNING TRAIN | 走ル列車!' on Steam on May 25, 2026. The game is priced at 2,980 yen, with a 10% launch discount bringing it to 2,682 yen until June 1. Developed by individual developer Liz over more than three years using Unreal Engine 5, the game features two fictional routes spanning a total of 40 km: the coastal Hayamori Railway Sanyama Main Line and the rural Takafuku Railway Fukugawa Line. Players drive four types of trains based on real vehicles across over 40 scenarios, operating from a first-person cab view with reproduced safety devices like EB and ATS. The game natively supports the Zuiki Master Controller, Zuiki Master Controller PRO, and Densha de GO! Controller. It has earned a 'Very Positive' rating on Steam with 98% positive reviews from approximately 370 reviews. The developer has published a roadmap that includes multilingual localization in Q3 2026, a passenger system and passenger POV mode in Q4 2026, route extensions in 2027, and a conductor mode. The full release is targeted for the second to fourth quarter of 2027.

The developer, Liz, has said that creating 3D passenger models and animations that fit the game's realistic world view without looking out of place is an extremely difficult task for a solo developer, and that handling all the modeling, animation, and in-game implementation alone would significantly delay the release. That is why the passenger system was not included at launch, though it is a high-priority item on the roadmap.

The roadmap also includes specific station extensions. The Fukugawa Main Line is planned to extend to Tenryuko Station in the second to third quarter of 2027, bringing the final line length to approximately 20 km. The Sanyama Main Line is planned to extend to Hayase Station in the second to fourth quarter of 2027, reaching a final length of approximately 80 km. After version 1.0, the developer is thinking of making the next project or DLC more user-generated content friendly, based on real routes rather than fictional ones.

For players who want a relaxed experience, the game includes an automatic driving function that lets AI take the wheel, and a photo mode to capture customized vehicles in the scenery. The game also allows changing seasons and weather. Menu BGM, onboard announcements, and departure melodies are scheduled to be implemented in mid-June. The installation size is less than 5 GB despite the detailed visuals.

Synthesized by Yomimono from the 6 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.

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