It’s come up in surveys before, but now with the amount of third party and in-house dlc, I think it is much more relevant both from a gameplay standpoint and economically for many players. With routes now costing ~£30, and the price of locos slowly creeping up, it is simply unaffordable to have all the dlc you want. A strong argument to this is, just accept it and spend wisely. However, being able to pay a monthly fee for dlc you want would be beneficial for everyone, third parties who would make more money and players would be able to enjoy a wider variety of dlc without breaking the bank on a regular basis
So long as it's a choice, it doesn't bother me. I can see the appeal to new players, but I'm personally not prepared to pay a subscription just to lose it all when I stop the sub. Add to that, if they charged £10 a month for example, that adds up to £120 a year and that's more than the cost of the DLC's I've purchased this year.
No, no and no. Outside as an option only but I am quite happy to pick and choose what I buy, or leave for a sale.
I'd personally prefer to own (as much as you can consider digital purchases owned) than pay a subscription
The problem with subscriptions in the case of TSW is that firstly , As Tigert said, in the long run some will lose out because not everyone buys the DLC at its original price; some wait for sales, others simply don't buy it. Secondly , the problem is that as soon as you stop paying, you'll own nothing anymore, and finally, for some, TSW is a game to relax with, and subscriptions force you to play (without you even realizing it) because to "make it profitable" you're going to play as much as possible because you will think about the number of DLCs you'll have access to (and not owning, so yes, I know that digital purchases are not theoretically possessions, but that's another topic, let's pretend), but not about the money spent But your topic raises a good point: DLCs are EXPENSIVE and you're trying to find a solution through subscriptions even though I don't think it's the right solution The only good thing (and I still have some doubts) about the subscription, I would say, would be if you bought it for a month to try out several routes and decide which one to buy later on sale (doing this in moderation).
That is probably the most viable alternative to buying every dlc, although I suppose my argument is slightly weighted on the fact that as an Xbox player sales are rare and usually contain nothing of note
DTG have been doing something like this with TSC presumably to try and maintain some revenue. I think options are good but it wouldn't be worth while to me. At the same time there seems to be serious quality control issues with TSW and yet the drive is to relentlessly keep releasing new DLCs with little time being put into fixing or improving the core game: this indicates to me that there are problems behind the scenes and that restricted revenue is pushing DTG to breaking point. If we loose DTG we loose our hobby so solutions are needed perhaps:- - More expensive higher quality and less frequent DLC - Subscription option to take away the initial expense and offer a more diverse player experience for less; players may try DLC that they otherwise wouldn't - Pay As You Play option offering value to infrequent players who otherwise might not consider spending money on TSW It is worth having this dialogue for players and DTG to workout what the future could acceptably look like for TSW.
Personally, I would have thought of two solutions: - Permanent sales depending on the age of the routes or/and the players' appreciation ,see a Cornwall Local at the same price that a Manchester Airport Commuter that makes me feel bad. At least there's no longer any need to wait for promotions on these routes. - A sort of route test , 3 hours of free testing to let players discover the routes and see if they like this route and will buy it later or not. This kind of system would be good for console gamers who don't have a refund system or even for those on PC, where sometimes certain routes take more than 2 hours (limit for refund) to fully test and form an opinion on them. Some might even like routes that didn't initially appeal to them. Third solution, bonus: That the base price of a DLC (30€) drops, even though I don't believe it will happen, but I would like it to. People will be more likely to buy it since it's cheaper. It's a bit like the case of annual paid releases before TSW5, which has now become free-to-play; this makes people more likely to continue playing TSW and pay for the DLCs with fewer player losses. The only things that would make players leave are already known: loss of interest due to price, bugs, optimization issues, etc...
I think paying a subscription model wouldn't be smart under the current climate of TSW as DLC are coming out in various states. If TSW DLC was consistently high quality Maybe it'd work better. But as said above I only buy certain DLCs after we've had general feedback so it would be a hard pass for me too personally.
You don't have to buy routes at full price. I only buy the odd thing full price, but otherwise will always wait for a sale.
I should expand on my original post. My suggestion is not for subscriptions to replace one-time, outright purchases, it is to have it as an option alongside. That’s why I am surprised at the amount of opposition to the suggestion, because if you don’t want to engage with a subscription service, you don’t have to
If they wanna add it all to my Xbox subscription then yea. Paying dtg £10 a month for a single game when I get 100s of games on Xbox for around the same price, it doesn't make much sense.
Just look at Xbox game pass, started cheap and now it's very expensive. At the moment you think it's becoming to expensive and want to stop the subscription, you will loose access to everything. So they drag you into the subscription eco system, knowing it's hard for people to give up and so they can raise prices again and again. So a big no for me.
Agreed. When there are sales, I find the prices are more reasonable. Although this does not count for all DLC... TSG stuff and WCML Over Shap have never had deep discounts. If I´m expected to still churn out 25-30 Euros for a DLC in a sale, yeah thats kind of expensive.
I think it’s a perfect idea for new players to help get them started. There’s no obligation to stay subscribed once you’ve built up a collection yourself.
Nope I'm good, I'm happy to wait until a DLC goes on sale, not everything needs to be subscription based.
The other red, or at least yellow, flag with subscription models is apparent from N3V approach to Trainz. They have created a two tier customer base where those who subscribe get the latest updates and core or new features but those (like me) who bought the product (or licensed if you prefer) whether outright or off Steam now have an inferior version of TRS22.
I own all currently available DLC for TSW and definitely wouldn't participate in a subscription model. If a time comes where I'm struggling for money, I'd make use of Steam sales to fill in any gaps in my library as with subscription models, you never own the content. I also still buy music in CD format and use iTunes rather than subscribe to music streaming services
Depends... I enjoy the subscription model Paradox has i.e. with Stellaris. It's a game I enjoy to play from time to time, and having an option to pay a subscription for a month and get the full game, with all the dlcs, works very well for me. I don't play it that often to justify buying the dlcs, and a lots of the dlcs actually expand the gameplay quite a bit.. But I'm not sure TSW is similar case.. outside of layering, DLCs don't offer any gameplay extensions... and the routes are usually quite complete packages. I also don't know if TSW lends itself to that kind of gameplay, you don't need all dlcs if you play TSW from time-to-time. Buying a DLCs at sale might be a more reasonable option for someone who plays occasionally. No need to have all the DLCs, as a casual player will not have time to actually use them... where as with game like stellaris, even if you manage to play one playthrough, the DLCs will still be beneficial for that playthrough.
If it was server based version of the game with perfect performance (limited only by my personal internet connection) then I could see some advantages to a subscription model. But if it’s just playing the same version I’d rather pay and own the license then subscribe monthly. I’m at the point of my collection where I’m only picking up routes in sales ap I’d be worse off paying a monthly fee just to get 30 days access to a route.
This subscription thing is sort of a longer-term idea as 2026 is going to be the most tsw dlc ever in a year. It won’t be affordable to buy everything, so having the chance to have cheaper trial access would make a big difference to a lot of players. Again, this isn’t me saying that such a system should replace the current one, all dlc should always be available to purchase
Here's the issue, subscriptions are fine in theory, but bad in practice, because it ends up hurting other forms or media. I'd only want subscriptions only if we knew for fact the pricing for standalone purchases will not end up increasing, and that they'll never lock content behind a sub model only. And if you keep up with how it's worked out on the movie side of things you know that's a very bold assumption, the latter more so than the former granted. I know for example physical collectors are very worried about Netflix buying out Warner for that reason. Heck, there's some stuff on Apple+ of all places I'd check out if I could buy physical versions of, but can't because Apple just doesn't do that. The game was already pretty "unaffordable" for a normal person anyways, I see people argue that it's ridiculous for any game to cost more that $80 total for any reason. I mean heck, some of the only times I see average people talk about train sim is to mock the absurd amounts of DLC it has. I don't know, given the frankly tiny and niche sector of customers they choose to court I don't see this suddenly being a turning point. This also assumes that everything announced even comes out or is worth buying in 2026, and that's a very bold claim to make given how much of a mixed bag DLC quality is and how lengthy reveal to release periods are now.
There's also a very good chance at least some of the items mentioned in the Big Reveal won't even come out in 2026, despite the current DTG campaign on Facebook giving the impression it's arriving anytime now.
yes this campaign is far too much right now, I’ve actually unfollowed DTG on socials for that very reason. Spamming up my timelines with stuff that is likely going to be on next years big revel as well
I’d personally prefer to purchase any routes I want, but the existence of an optional subscription wouldn’t bother me and would probably suit new TSW players who don’t have the vast built up library to provide layers into routes. So not for me, but could see the appeal.
Why are people against subscriptions? Obviously the option to buy the content is still available too. This is great choice for new players coming into the game, otherwise they’d be looking at a few hundred quid (sale discounts) just to catch up.
In the case of TSW, it would have to be a a subscription on the DLC, as the game itself is free So you would be paying like $30/month per DLC
Absolutely not we have enough sales during the year to buy content at a discount if the full price is too much for you. To many people must have new releases as soon as they drop if you save up and buy during sales you can get two pieces if content for the price of a new release during the sales
Yes, yes but it's still a one-time payment and I can play the product as much as I'd like. It would even remain in my library if the product got removed from the store, which has happened with some TS Classic DLC in the past. You could bring up the Peninsula Corridor thing, but that is down to DTG releasing a core update as a new "game" each year. Had we remained in TSW5, existing owners of the original branded version wouldn't have been affected. Going back to music for a second, I'm more of a focused listener than someone who jumps between the latest songs and I do not listen to playlists either. I can buy an album I'm interested in for a fixed price, I rip that CD to my iTunes library and happily listen to that album for months in heavy rotation with the rest of my collection. I don't have to buy that album again and if I look after my physical disc, it should hopefully last me the rest of my life. A new album is roughly the price of a subscription and if I subscribed to Apple Music for that one album and listened to it for say, three months. I'd have purchased it three times over! I'm not saying subscriptions are evil or any nonsense like that. It just doesn't suit me whatsoever! As long as the current form of purchasing DLC still exists and there isn't special exclusive content for subscription-only users. I don't see a problem
Because if DTG decided to be unscrupulous in the same manner as N3V, it could easily lead to a two tier customer base where those subscribing get more favourable treatment, updates, newer version etc. than those who buy/licence the game and content outright. The one thing DTG should perhaps examine is some sort of Season Pass, with a hefty discount for paying up front. And ultimately it all boils down to the fact they are charging the earth for this content compared to other games. Only Farm Sim 25 came close with the Kinlaig map full price £25 but that also included a fair bit of new equipment to use in game.
Subscription?? Absolutely not. First of all it would be a gold mine for the publisher. They're making enough money as it is at the prices they're charging. Secondly, I'm quite content to pick and choose when and what to buy and how much to pay. I don't want everything. And to those who say it would just be an option. Wait until the dollars start pouring in. It won't be an option for long when DTG sees how profitable it is.
As long as the purchase option remains available at all times, I don't mind a subscription model. If a subscription becomes mandatory or certain content becomes exclusive to subscribers, I'm out.
Would be interesting to know how many actually subscribe to TSC with the subscription service on that. Don’t imagine there is a way to know the numbers.
Why would they the TSC subscription plan was a flop. The reason I think that is that it been 2 years and they haven't changed the curated DLC at all from what it was day one. And originally they said it would change every 6 months. So shows that there was not much demand. And a subscription would be as useless as sales to someone like me who owns everything anyways.
I mean, yeah it’s always possible, but imo I should imagine both versions would be the same (using TSC as an example). TSC have subscriptions and there’s no difference between a route I’ve bought and the subscription version. In fact I picked up a couple of German routes thanks to trying them in the subscription, so that’s one incentive to try routes before you buy. Not all of us are fortunate enough to buy on steam and refund in the 2 hour window Of course, it would be only serve new players basically or people who want to try a route before they buy them.
