The simulation allows players to operate a train on various routes in Europe, Asia, and North America. Players need to stop and start the train, couple wagons, using the computer mouse, keyboard or a hardware addition such as Raildriver to operate the controls. Sound effects are enabled.
Reception
Sales
Train Simulator achieved sold 191,952 units in the United States by the end of 2001, which drew revenues of $8.7 million. These numbers rose to 330,000 copies in the United States alone by August 2006. At the time, this led Edge to rank it as the country's 54th-best-selling computer game released since January 2000. Internationally, Train Simulator received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association, indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In the German market, the :de:Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland|Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland presented it with a "Gold" certification in early 2003, for sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Train Simulator ultimately sold one million units by 2005, and is, despite its age, still very popular and has a large, active community.
Reviews and awards
John Lee reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "All aboard for HO scale fans, trainspotters, and nostalgic rail buffs. Train haters, however, may prefer the old cliché, 'Run for the roadhouse, boys. They can't corner you there.'" The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Microsoft Train Simulator for its 2001 "Computer Simulation Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002.
Mods
The game features mod support as routes, trains, cargoes, scenery, etc. are abundant in the game. The installment of the mods is somewhat tricky since they have to be loaded into set files like Routes for Routes and Trainset for Trains, rollingstock, consists, etc. Over 1,000 mods were created for the game and are mostly hosted on community sites such as trainsim.com, uktrainsim.com and elvastower.com, to name a few. Additionally, MSTS BIN, a community mod that aimed to add features and fix old MSTS bugs has since been released.
Cancelled sequel
On May 7, 2003, Microsoft announced that it would be developing a sequel called Microsoft Train Simulator 2 and it was first demoed to the public at E3 on May 15. Seemingly its main improvements were the addition of people to the game, more realistic crashes and other accidents, and turntables. It was being developed by Kuju Entertainment, the original MSTS creators. Despite restructuring efforts at Kuju, the project was however handed over to Microsoft Game Studios on August 18, 2003. This project was ultimately halted, as the following statement on April 24, 2004 from Microsoft confirmed: On January 19, 2007, Microsoft announced the relaunch of the Microsoft Train Simulator project. This time the game was being made in-house by Aces Game Studio known for its long line of Microsoft Flight Simulators, as a part of the "Games for Windows" initiative. The game would have used the Microsoft Flight Simulator Xgraphics engine and it was planned to be compatible with both Windows Vista and Windows XP. A post on 'The Little Wheel Goes in Back' blog, written by one of the developers, on August 23, 2007 suggested the working title was 'Train Simulator 2'. On January 23, 2009, Microsoft announced that it was permanently closing Aces Game Studios, the internal development studio responsible for the Microsoft Flight Simulator series and the development of Microsoft Train Simulator 2. As a result, all future development on Train Simulator 2 was immediately halted, marking the second time that the project was terminated. While Microsoft stated that "they are committed to both the Flight Simulator and Train Simulator brands", it is unknown if the Train Simulator 2 project will ever be resurrected and completed sometime in the future. However, considering the fact that they discontinued support for Windows XP in 2014 and Windows Vista in 2017, as well as the Games for Windows initiative discontinued in 2013, it seems unlikely. Many former employees of Aces Game Studios went on to join Cascade Game Foundry, a new company that was itself founded by two Aces alumni. Cascade Game Foundry focuses on developing entertainment simulations.
