Brazilian indie developer Barely Making Games has officially confirmed that they would continue the development of their railway simulator, now renamed Retro Rail: Japan!, according to a lengthy Steam update published on July 8.
The update comes several weeks after the retro-inspired railway simulator, originally named Retro Rail: Go! appeared during Steam Next Fest, causing controversy among Japanese gamers. Although the demo attracted plenty of attention for its nostalgic take on Japanese train operations, it also sparked accusations that it plagiarized Taito’s long-running Densha de GO! series. Users criticized the title, interface, and overall presentation, with some arguing that the project crossed the line from being just a homage and stepped into clone territory.
In response to the criticism, Barely Making Games released a statement on June 17 explaining that the project had never been intended as plagiarism. “Retro Rail GO! naturally builds on top of nostalgia, but it was never meant to be a rip-off, to infringe any copyrights or offend anyone,” the developer said. Bearing in mind the potential legal risks, they explained that they were seriously considering abandoning the project and would wait for things to settle before deciding whether to halt development.
That decision has now been made. In the latest Steam post, the developer says the wave of supportive messages from the community ultimately convinced them to “maintain and complete the project.” The game has since been renamed Retro Rail: Japan!, possibly to avoid copyright infringement problems, and its trailer, screenshots, demo, and in-game UI have all received updates while keeping the core gameplay intact.
The developer also stressed that these changes were made “not because of the haters,” but to keep the project on a “healthy and safe path of development.”
The updated demo also removes all AI-generated placeholder artworks, replacing them with commissioned illustrations. Barely Making Games apologized for their inclusion, while reiterating that the game is “not a pirate port” and contains no stolen assets, copyrighted video, or trademark infringement. They added that some footage, color schemes, and names have nevertheless been modified or removed from the project to further reinforce that point.
The update also introduces Japanese-style train horns, new passenger sprites for stations, railroad crossing gate models, and improved UI scaling for ultrawide displays.
While the presentation has changed considerably, Barely Making Games says the driving mechanics themselves remain untouched. More UI presets and customization options are also planned in future updates as Retro Rail: Japan! moves toward Early Access.
Retro Rail: Japan! is scheduled for an Early Access release on PC via Steam sometime in 2026.
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