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.