Railway Empire
Give it 10 hours
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 2 reviews are negative (64%); after 35h it's 1 in 13 (8%).
- Fully opens up by hour 35.
- The opening is criticised more than in 92% of games we track.
- 16% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “Mountain goat” (Chapter 1: Connect Omaha to Rock Springs): only 56% of starters get there.
- 90% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 9,785 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 298 reviews: 32h for positive, 10.5h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (89.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Mountain goat Chapter 1: Connect Omaha to Rock Springs Most players quit here 56% −44
- Mantled guereza Chapter 2: Deliver clothes to New York 45% −11
- Bull and bear Chapter 3: Take Over a Competitor 18% −27
- Gun dog Chapter 4: Transport weapons to Knoxville 23% +5
- Bookworm Chapter 5: Build a University in San Francisco 10% −13
- Historic moment Campaign successfully completed 16% +6
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (128)
story milestone ending side
- What is a steam engine First locomotive purchased 100%
- From A to B 2 cities connected 99%
- We brake for nobody First express train in use 83%
- Online shop Transport 1200 packages in one game 78%
- Mystery steam ride Transport 1000 passengers in one game 77%
- I'll scratch your back if... 5 farms connected 73%
- All beginnings are difficult Own an industry 72%
- Lightning flash Set a speed record 67%
- Bridging the gap Build a long bridge 64%
- Full steam ahead First engineer recruited 62%
- Mountain goat Chapter 1: Connect Omaha to Rock Springs 56%
- Right through the middle Build a long tunnel 52%
- Auctioneer Win 5 auctions in one game 51%
- Monopolist Produce 80% of an item in the entire region 50%
- Quiet times 20 locomotives in use 49%
- Jumbled routes 10 cities connected 46%
- Mantled guereza Chapter 2: Deliver clothes to New York 45%
- Easy come easy go Invest $ 2M into the stock market 44%
- Fully loaded A fully staffed trains 42%
- Let off some steam Sabotage a competitor 39%
- Favoritism 20 farms connected 38%
- Egomaniac Own 10 industries 37%
- Bold and beautiful Invest $ 5M into company shares 36%
- Isn't that great First attraction built 34%
- All mine! Buy out a competitor 32%
- Lots of traffic today 50 locomotives in use 31%
- Medium-sized business You have 50 employees 27%
- Gun dog Chapter 4: Transport weapons to Knoxville 23%
- Lone wolf Complete a scenario in region "The North" as president 21%
- Fill her up, please A goods depot has loaded 1000 railcars 21%
- TRAINing Day Unlock all locomotives from the 1850s 20%
- Traffic chaos 100 locomotives in use 18%
- Bull and bear Chapter 3: Take Over a Competitor 18%
- Tent camp Relocate an indian village 17%
- Historic moment Campaign successfully completed 16%
- The future of the railway First diesel locomotive bought 16%
- No dough, no show! Receive 5 city bonuses in one game 16%
- Track to the Future Unlock all locomotives from the 1830s 15%
- Lost my train of thought Connect all cities in one game 15%
- Railway to Hell Unlock all locomotives from the 1890s 10%
- Megalomaniac Complete a scenario in region "The East" as president 10%
- Bookworm Chapter 5: Build a University in San Francisco 9.9%
- Train or Die Unlock all locomotives from the 1870s 9.6%
- Train Jam Unlock all locomotives from the 1910s 9.6%
- Go with the flow Produce 100 railcars of oil in one game 9.2%
- Let's go! First scenario completed successfully 8.8%
- It belongs in a museum Build 5 different museums in one game 7.6%
- Tickety-boo Unlock the first locomotive engine of the Great Britain and Ireland region. 7.5%
- Henschel and Gretel Unlock the first area in the Germany region. 6.9%
- Platform Nine and Three-Quarters Construct a railroad station with signaling control in the region of Great Britain and Ireland. 6.1%
- The age of the automobile Produce 100 railcars full of cars 5.3%
- The Valiant Little Conductor Create an express line with a "Hulda" in a Germany game. 5.2%
- Hillbilly Complete a scenario in region "The South-East" as president 4.8%
- Mexico First Mexico scenario: associate yourself with Diaz. 4.4%
- Gallivanting Connect half of all cities in the Great Britain and Ireland region. 4.3%
- Train au Vin Transport 300 wine in the region of France. 4.1%
- Loco Cabana Make use of the locomotive engines "Garratt" and "Kitson-Meyer" in any South American scenario. 4.0%
- Trainee mechanic Complete a scenario in region "The Midwest" as president 3.9%
- Sunny boy Complete a scenario in region "The West" as president 3.4%
- Eager to learn Build 10 different universities in one game 3.3%
- Oil tycoon Complete a scenario in region "The South" as president 3.0%
- ¡Viva México! Completed the Mexico scenario. 3.0%
- Dog sleigh Use the Achilles locomotive in the "Dominion Day" scenario. 3.0%
- In a snap Complete the "Transport revolution" scenario. 3.0%
- Llamas in Pyjamas Transport 600 loads of llama wool in any game in South America. 2.9%
- The Customs and the Seven Young Rail Spikes Unlock 7x areas in the "Patchwork" scenario. 2.9%
- Speedy Gonzalez Set a speed record with a Stirling in the Mexico scenario. 2.8%
- Winter is coming Stack up 200 commodities in a warehouse in the Great Lakes region. 2.8%
- On track Connect half of the cities of the "Dominion Day" scenario. 2.8%
- Cowboy Complete a scenario in region "The North-West" as president 2.7%
- Due South Complete the "Dominion Day" scenario. 2.7%
- The Loonie Archieve a quarterly result of $5 million in the "Dominion Day" scenario. 2.7%
- Quiche le train France scenario: affiliate with Freycinet. 2.7%
- Cheeky geezer Complete the "Transport revolution" scenario as president. 2.6%
- Centennium Complete a 100 year era free game in Mexico. 2.3%
- Robin Sparkles Reach the rank of President in the "Dominion Day" scenario. 2.3%
- Pompa Colada Complete the "Outside capital" scenario 2.3%
- Locozilla Unlock all locomotives from Japan while playing "Rising Sun" or "Twisted Paths". 2.1%
- Open Borders Mexico scenario: associate yourself with Stanford. 2.0%
- LǺNGSTRUMP Connect 1 million citizens to your railroad network in Northern Europe. 1.9%
- Perfectionist Complete all USA scenarios 1.9%
- Train brûlée Complete the "Into a new time" as president. 1.9%
- Crêpe exprès Use the "Forquenot" locomotive in the "Into a new time" scenario. 1.9%
- Donpirinha Complete the "Coffee baron" scenario 1.8%
- The Train Prince; or, Iron Henry Complete the "Patchwork" scenario. 1.8%
- Drop bear Complete the "Pioneering spirit" scenario. 1.7%
- El Mariachi Connect all cities in a game in Mexico. 1.7%
- El Dorado Complete one out of the three South American scenarios as president. 1.7%
- Investi-gator Unlock the three Australian locomotive engines in the "Pioneering spirit" scenario. 1.6%
- Heavyweight Complete the "Rising Sun" scenario. 1.6%
- Railpunzel Connect the cities of Basel and Königsberg in a Germany game. 1.6%
- FULLSTÄNDIG Complete the "Hibernation" scenario. 1.4%
- I made it eh Connect all cities in the Great Lakes region. 1.4%
- The Steaming Beauty Complete a 100-year era free game in Germany. 1.4%
- Not emused Produce 350 Rail-O-Mite in the "Pioneering spirit" scenario. 1.3%
- Pouch potato Found your first settlement in a free game in the Down Under region. 1.3%
- Gran Fiesta Complete a free game in Mexico. 1.3%
- Roger Libre Complete the "Summiteer" scenario 1.3%
- Cocktail Party Connect all cities to each other in the region of South America. 1.3%
- Pile it on Connect all cities in the Great Britain and Ireland region. 1.3%
- PRÄSIDËNTLǺ Complete the "Hibernation" scenario as president. 1.2%
- El Presidente Complete the Mexico scenario as president. 1.2%
- Have a butchers Unlock all locomotive engines of the Great Britain and Ireland region. 1.2%
- Train au chocolat France scenario: affiliate with Boulanger. 1.2%
- KONGLÖMERǺD Connect all cities to each other in the "Hibernation" scenario. 1.0%
- Loco-deshi Complete the "Twisted Paths" scenario. 1.0%
- Loco-sensei Complete the "Twisted Paths" scenario as President. 1.0%
- Bowing at 45° Achieve an average traveler satisfaction rating of 125% on at least 5 routes. 1.0%
- Just in beaver Own 4 pelt businesses in the Great Lakes region. 1.0%
- Livin' La Vida Loco Complete a 100 year era free game in South America. 1.0%
- The Emperor's New Rails Complete the "Patchwork" scenario as president. 1.0%
- Trackatouille Connect all cities in the region of France. 0.9%
- LOKI Complete a 100-year era free game in Northern Europe. 0.9%
- Beaver duck Complete a 100-year era free game in Down Under. 0.9%
- Got balls Produce 100 leather balls in the region of Great Britain and Ireland. 0.9%
- RAGNALÖK Unlock the three Northern Europe locomotive engines in a 100 year era. 0.8%
- PARADÖX Produce 200 complex board games in the "Hibernation" scenario. 0.8%
- Rumpelstilttrain Transport 400 cuckoo clocks with freight locomotives in the Germany region. 0.8%
- Loc-Monsieur Own 5 luxury tailors in the region of France. 0.7%
- Train de canard Complete a 100 year era free game in France as president. 0.7%
- Lokozuna Complete the "Rising Sun" scenario as President. 0.7%
- NÖNSTÖPP Transport 100 passengers from Oslo to Flensborg without any stops in a Northern Europe free game. 0.6%
- Over-koala-fied Reach the rank of President in the "Pioneering spirit" scenario. 0.6%
- 100 Locogami Complete a 100-year era free game on the Japan map. 0.6%
- Feast of iron mobility Connect all towns to your rail network on the Japan map. 0.6%
- Tunnel-web spider Found 30 settlements in a free game in the Down Under region. 0.4%
- Snake-a-rang Establish an express line between Adelaide and Sydney in a free game in Down Under. 0.4%
- Monster snack The towns of Tokyo, Yokohama and Saitama reach a size of 250,000 inhabitants in the "Rising Sun" scenario. 0.4%