Many people on the web are committed to bringing old classics to life as free and open-source alternatives. This has already happened with other games, and now it's the turn of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, the popular strategy game designed by Chris Sawyer and released in 1994. This free alternative, called OpenTTD, lets you play a campaign and multiplayer mode on Windows, Linux, macOS, and many other platforms. You can download the latest version to get started.
Transport Tycoon is probably one of the best and most popular games in the Tycoon series. The original title was distributed by MicroProse, developed by Chris Sawyer, and placed you in the shoes of a transport magnate, with the goal of creating your own monopoly of trains, planes, and buses, among other vehicles.
Although this free version of Transport Tycoon requires several files to work, its creators designed a Windows installer that automatically downloads and installs everything you need, saving you a lot of time.
Once you run it, you'll notice that OpenTTD is an identical simulation to Transport Tycoon Deluxe, with some new features such as new vehicles, the option to join stations, the ability to bribe city authorities, and the possibility of customizing the game to each player's taste, among many other things aimed at improving the interface. You can see the complete list of improvements here.
When it comes to business simulation, very few reached the level of Transport Tycoon. Not only do you need to build the vehicles that will transport cargo and passengers, but also design their routes, ensuring they are efficient while covering every corner of the city. And all this while other companies are competing with you, trying to make better routes, have more vehicles on the road, and offer better service. And this is just the base of the game, because as you advance and pay off the initial loan, you can improve the technology of each of your transports, moving through time, decade after decade.
As we said at the beginning, Transport Tycoon remains as popular and fun as it was in its heyday. We could consider it the Civilization of corporations, but some might view that as an exaggeration. If you've already played it, there's no need for us to recommend it, but if you've never tried it and you like good strategy games, then you should call a few friends and play a few rounds.
Currently, OpenTTD is available for a good number of platforms, in addition to Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can download it here.
OpenTTD
