Linus Tech Tips Discussion

 Atari Paywalls Open Source OpenTTD Behind 30-Year-Old Original Game on Steam Summary After being essentially abandonware for decades, Atari (who bought the rights from Chris Sawyer in 2024) just rereleased the 30 year old Transport Tycoon Deluxe on Steam and GOG for $10. The controversy here is how this impacts OpenTTD, the beloved open source recreation of the game that the community has spent 20 years modernizing and keeping alive. Atari and Steam have now made it so you can no longer add OpenTTD to your Steam or GOG library for free. To get the open source game on these storefronts, which is how most people want to play it for the auto updates, you are now forced to buy the $10 bundle containing the 30-year-old Atari release.   Quotes Quote Transport Tycoon Deluxe—one of the finest of the Tycoon stable—has suddenly been un-abandonwared and made a return to Steam and GOG, where it can be had for $10 (£8.50). Does OG TTD's release change things for OpenTTD? Yes, but not to the extent you might fear. Long story short: you can still download and play OpenTTD completely free from its website, but if you want to get it on Steam or GOG? You'll need to buy the original game first.   My thoughts In my opinion, this feels like a cash grab. For decades a passionate community kept this genre relevant, and now they are swooping in to profit off that exact community's hard work. While it is true that you can still download OpenTTD completely for free directly from the website, Atari is banking on the convenience of Steam to make it look like you have to pay $10 to access the modern open source reimplementation and extension. And the reviews on Transport Tycoon Deluxe on Steam seem to mirror my opinion.   Sources https://www.openttd.org/news/2026/03/14/steam-changes https://www.pcgamer.com/games/sim/youve-got-a-narrow-window-to-nab-openttd-on-steam-for-free-because-transport-tycoon-deluxe-has-just-been-un-abandonwared-by-atari/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/1536610/OpenTTD/