Railgrade is the cyberpunk train Satisfactory we didn't know we needed

Railgrade
(Image credit: Minakata Dynamics/Epic Games)

Railgrade, a management sim about building railroads to ferry resources across a planetary colony, appeared during today's Nintendo Direct Mini to reveal a Switch version and an autumn release window.

Under the direction of the Nakitani Chemicals corporation, you play as an administrator managing the acquisition and transport of industrial resources. In practical terms, that means you're building railroads to connect factories and refineries to ensure a smooth flow of resources to your corporate overlords. Think of a game like Satisfactory or Factorio, but hyper-focused on transportation networks.

The game splits the difference between management sim and puzzle game, as each of the 50 levels takes place on a small map with its own set of resources to drain. You can customize your trains with different engines and freight types as you aim to build the most efficient transport network possible.

If you keep a close eye on PC indie games, you might have already played Railgrade - it was one of the demos available during the February 2021 Steam Game Festival. Since then, developer Minakata Dynamics has moved to publisher Epic Games, so the game will now launch exclusively on the Epic Games Store on PC, in addition to the newly-announced Switch version.

No more specific release date than "autumn" has yet been announced.

If you lie other types of management, the Nintendo Direct Mini also brought us news of Square Enix's Stardew Valley-like Harvestella and a release date for Disney's life simulation Dreamlight Valley - on top of the long-awaited Switch ports of Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 3 Portable, of course.

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

Read more
A glimpse of a sand-processing factory in Sandustry
Palworld dev endorses this sand-powered sim that looks like Terraria with automation, which already has 97% positive reviews in Steam Next Fest
Let's Build a Dungeon
"They will cancel their subscription and your investors will have your head": This management sim about making the perfect MMO is so detailed it lets you play your own game
Driving past a petrol station in the Steam Next Fest demo for Keep Driving
Two friends spent years making this open-world road trip RPG that's gotten over 170k Steam wishlists and 70k demo downloads, and it's finally out this week
a bulldozer on a dirt road
We all yearn for construction jobs as simulator RoadCraft takes a podium spot in Steam Next Fest's most-played demos just behind PvP mech game Mecha Break
Screenshot from Wanderstop's debut trailer, showing main character Alma looking solemnly at the ground.
Legendary indie dev returns with a farming sim that couldn't be more different from the game that made them famous, all about an ex-warrior who hates the cozy life
Sugardew Island
The Stardew Valley stan in me is more excited than ever to play this cozy farming sim for real next month, after its Steam Next Fest demo blew me away
Latest in Simulation
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero expert finally annihilates world record 200% speedrun of the game's hardest song after trying and failing 50,000 times
Stardew Valley Baldur's Gate 3 mod Baldur's Village
Baldur's Gate 3 director Swen Vincke gives his official approval to the Stardew Valley mod that brings the D&D RPG to Pelican Town
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"
InZOI screenshot
The Sims rival InZoi has 300 people hanging out in each of its in-game cities and they all "interact with each other in real-time"
InZOI screenshot from creation studio demo which depicts a shockingly realistic character model rendered in Unreal Engine 5
The director behind The Sims competitor InZOI spent 20 years making MMOs, but he ditched the massive RPGs after playing life sims with his son
Demon Slayer season 4 episode 2
True to the anime, Stardew Valley's hottest mod adds two romanceable Demon Slayer dudes who are both "rude and standoffish" at first
Latest in News
Original Xbox console
Former Microsoft exec says the first Xbox was killed early in favor of 360 because it was "losing money left right and center," but luckily "we could afford to hemorrhage cash"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Despite Monster Hunter Wilds suffering monstrous performance problems on PC, it still outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in the US
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
A screenshot of Jordan drinking a soda during the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Hertic Prophet.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2
Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us
The Last of Us is "better" than 28 Days Later, says movie writer Alex Garland: "This is so much more sophisticated and moving"
Atelier Ryza 3 protagonist closeup
JRPG producer says people prefer their anime girls to have thick thighs when the economy's in the tank, and he's not even joking a little bit