Play OpenTTD online — free, instant Runs natively — no emulator
OpenTTD is the open-source reimplementation of Transport Tycoon Deluxe — build railways, roads, docks and airports, run a transport empire, and watch a whole economy grow around it. Playable right now: no download, no sign-up, nothing to install, and no original game files needed.
This is not an emulator running an old binary. OpenTTD is its own game engine, compiled to WebAssembly, with free community-made graphics and music.
Controls — what does what
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Start a game | New Game, then pick a map size and start date. |
| Build | Use the toolbar at the top — rail, road, dock, airport. |
| Scroll the map | Drag with the right mouse button, or push the pointer to a screen edge. |
| Zoom | Mouse wheel, or the magnifier buttons. |
| Pause / speed | Pause key, or the toolbar clock. |
No original game required — by design. OpenTTD once needed Transport Tycoon's data files. The community replaced them entirely: OpenGFX (graphics, GPL-2.0) and OpenMSX (music, GPL-2.0) are what you're playing with. That's why this can be hosted at all — engine and assets are free.
How to play OpenTTD
You run a transport company from 1950 onwards. Towns and industries produce cargo — coal, passengers, mail, oil, grain — and pay you to move it somewhere that wants it. Everything else follows from that.
Your first line
The classic opening is coal. Find a coal mine and a power station, build a station at each, lay track between them, buy a train and a few wagons, and set the orders to shuttle between the two. Done well that one line funds everything after it.
Why it holds up
Because the map is a live economy, not a backdrop. Serve a town well and it grows; grow it enough and it needs more services. Competitors build too. Vehicles age, break down, and get replaced by better ones as the decades pass.
OpenTTD versus the 1995 original
OpenTTD started as a faithful reimplementation and kept going: bigger maps, more vehicles, better pathfinding, multiplayer, and an enormous library of add-ons. It is comfortably the best way to play this game today, on any platform.
Tips that actually help
- Start small. One profitable line beats four half-built ones. Expand from income, not from loans.
- Watch the station catchment. A station only collects from tiles near it — place it over the town or industry, not beside it.
- Full-load orders for bulk cargo. Coal and ore pay by quantity, so waiting for a full train is usually worth it. Passengers are the opposite.
- Build for the line you'll need. Leaving room for a second track costs nothing now and saves a rebuild later.
- Use the news window. New industries, closures and vehicle introductions all matter, and it's easy to miss them.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Transport Tycoon Deluxe?
No, and it doesn't use any of its files. OpenTTD is an independent reimplementation of the game, written from scratch and developed well beyond the 1995 original. The graphics and music are OpenGFX and OpenMSX — free replacements made by the OpenTTD community, not Chris Sawyer's artwork. Details in our provenance notice.
Do I need the original game?
No. That used to be true of OpenTTD years ago, but the community built complete free replacement graphics and music, and those are what ship here. Nothing to buy, nothing to upload.
Why is there no sound?
The free sound set, OpenSFX, is 13 MB — large enough to push this build past the file-size limit our host allows. Music and graphics are included; sound effects are not. You can add them in-game through OpenTTD's own content downloader.
How do I actually play?
Build a transport company. Lay track or roads between towns and industries, buy vehicles, set them running between stations, and make enough money to expand. There's no fail state beyond bankruptcy — it's a sandbox you can play for hours.
Can I save my game?
Yes. Saves are kept in your browser's storage and survive closing the tab, but they live on this device in this browser.
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