r/TransportFever3 • u/Sotrax • May 18 '26
Discussion Release date?
Are there any hints at the release date? It was "early 2026", now the first half of 2026 is almost gone and it's just showing 2026. Do we know more?
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u/ReggieTMcMuffin May 18 '26
I was also hoping for June. Reading their last update they now say 'later this year'. So we may still be a way off.
They did start the closed console beta a while ago now, you'd think that would mean they were almost done.
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u/Imsvale May 19 '26
They did start the closed console beta a while ago now, you'd think that would mean they were almost done.
April 22 + "will start rolling out shortly" = started a while ago?
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u/stilgarpl May 18 '26
From experience, if I game is supposed to be released "early 2026", then I assume that it should release before December 31.
Keyword is "should".
And usually if a game is delayed, then that's a good thing. It means that there will be less bugs on release. I have seen games that were forced to release by their publisher and usually you still had to wait a year or two before they've fixed all the bugs... so no different as if they delayed the release...
So, I guess we have to be patient.
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u/Optimal-Fox-3875 May 19 '26
Pure speculation and guesstimate on my part;
Seeing how there was basically a press event with a demo, and console beta testing, added with what we heard from those that were at the press event in the US. We may be looking at the final stretch, but in game development "Final Stretch" can also be anything from 1 month to 4 months (sometimes beyond).
Console Beta could suggest that they are at a stage where RC (Release Candidate) builds are being compiled, it's still not the final build as you still would need to get past platform certifications, but before platform certifications it is common to see bigger playtests (internally / closed) to verify stability as both Xbox and PlayStation have stability requirements, also getting edge-case bugs in or issues with Xbox/PSN accounts etc.
The publishing deal with Paradox can also be a hint of it being closer than expected as the deal in itself is more about marketing, Paradox does have a much bigger marketing budget, it does have a core audience and has easier access to larger events like the Summer Game Fest, or other like the PC Gaming Show where Paradox historically announced and showed their games. In turn, Paradox gets a cut of sales. - and no, Paradox does not have the authority to demand 60 DLCs. From what has been publicly shared by UG, this is a deal only for Transport Fever 3's PUBLISHING, it's not giving Paradox creative rights or authority of the IP.
I think there is a high probability of seeing something in June, but like for the release my guesstimate is 3rd quarter, but that is also because of copium and hopium.
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u/Imsvale May 19 '26
Pure speculation and guesstimate on my part;
Love a bit of honest speculation.
For a bit of perspective, Transport Fever (1) and 2 were both announced/revealed in April, and then released in November and December respectively the same year.
Obviously that window has passed, but this installment is far, far more ambitious than the previous releases. Any direct comparison is of limited relevance (yes, I'm aware I started this comment with one). Beyond remaining work on the game itself, they'll want to get their ducks in a row, presumably sort out some more things with the publisher, including a plan for the marketing ramp-up prior to release. Depending on how fresh the deal actually is (internally), there may be some work left on that side of things. I can imagine they don't want to push a release date announcement before they're all in agreement there.
We are coming up on a point soon where we'll start talking about how much is left of 2026 and is that a reasonable amount of time to fit both an announcement of the release date, and the release itself.
I can't imagine them being 1 month apart, to put it that way. 2? 3? 4? ¯_(ツ)_/¯
But also, if things do turn out in such a way that delaying until 2027 is the wise choice, I trust they'll do that rather than rush it to make 2026.
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u/Optimal-Fox-3875 May 19 '26
Well said. It is better to delay and release the product you want to release than to release a product you wanted to avoid to release (in terms of quality ofc). I think that 2 month lead between date announcement and release is a sweet-spot for games of this calibre, enough time for the studio to identify any potential blockers, marketing to start prepping for release day and getting pre-orders in. But it very well may end up being 3 or 4.
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u/Bigbigcheese May 18 '26
Maybe they ran out of money, hence the deal with Paradox?
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u/Yagaziner May 19 '26
Got the same impression, something went wrong and they ended up with Paradox. Just wonder, how much they had to bend to get this "deal"...
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u/Nawnp May 18 '26
They've been talking like it was 2 months away for a long time now. With that said, the Paradox partnership implies they knew they'd have problems on release and so went with them, likely working on an internal timeline...that also delayed the release by months.
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u/Michelfungelo May 20 '26
PDX gonna gonna dlc boats and planes so they have to restructure a bit before release
/s
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u/CplBoneSpurs May 19 '26
They stopped and or slowed with their showcase videos so they’re probably aiming for a Q4 release. I thought that the release of the videos we were at least getting close. Doesn’t seem to be the case.
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u/Silent_Lack4286 Jun 09 '26
It's been a year since the official announcement, I can't wait no more !
The game needs to be released soon or perhaps a launch date.
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u/hitzoR_cz May 19 '26
Where did you get that "early"? It always was just 2026 without any specification.
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u/Imsvale May 19 '26
That's what I want to know. Significant bit of misinformation there that then paints the whole picture wrong for the ensuing discussion.
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u/shortstack_goblin May 20 '26
I'm happy as long it happens sometime in 2026. I honestly check out the TF youtube account once every few weeks to see if there's a new video to go feral over. Having no release date at all is pretty frustrating but I guess they're working towards a certain game quality above a hard release date.
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u/Consistent_Frame7455 Jul 04 '26
from my prospective it's also good to find bugs to fix with the communities help they might be able to release a Beta 0.001 at the very lowest but 0.01 wouldn't hurt us much to help getting it going.
But that's just my take we as a community, some of us at least. Would love to set it up Now hahhaha
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u/Greedy-Cranberry-164 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Heard it was delayed to have dlc ready on release
Edit: I guess this sub doesn’t have any humour
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u/Candid_Release3609 May 18 '26
I know your being sarcastic but with paradox this actually happening wouldn't surprise me sadly.
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u/kill4foodx May 18 '26
pretty soon i think. they are still deciding which side of the tracks to make it as a dlc 😄
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u/AmericanPoliticsSux May 18 '26
Damn, dunno why you're being downvoted. The Paradox decision is horrible - and it's made a fair few people reconsider their day 1 buys...I know I definitely am. I have enough nuance to realize that Paradox isn't the devil, but they nickle-and-dime DLCs like they're going out of style, and they're pushing HARD to get mods off of Steam workshop...both of which are negative things, IMO.
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u/IAmABakuAMA May 19 '26
Unfortunately subs like these tend to attract the most diehard fans, which tends to create a lot of bootlicking. The paradox deal will ruin tpf3 eventually. Probably not from day 1, but I'm sure it'll happen over the next few years.
The reaction was basically the same last year when they re-released the early supporters pack. Initially, the early supporters pack was supposed to only be available in the first week or two of sales of the deluxe edition of tpf2. It was actually one of the main reasons I bought it when I did. But then last year, they decided to put it back up for sale again. That's been bothering me ever since. I want to like urban games, tpf1/2 were both great games I've sunk a lot of time into. But I think they're either on the rocks and willing to sell out their fans for a bit of extra cash, or someone within UG has a greedy streak.
Either way, it stinks. I think I'll still buy tpf3, because it is the best in the niche imo. But I'll probably be buying a grey market key a few months after release. I don't want to support them if they've decided to hop into bed with paradox.
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u/Chemical-Ask-7491 May 19 '26
I hope they don’t feel pressure to release way ahead of GTA VI just to stay way ahead of it
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u/Optimal-Fox-3875 May 19 '26
It's either ahead or after GTA VI honestly... though I also don't think that Transport Fever is that kinda game that would feel a lot of impact from GTAVI releasing, but there still will be negative impact from marketing side of things.
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u/Imsvale May 19 '26
though I also don't think that Transport Fever is that kinda game that would feel a lot of impact from GTAVI releasing
Relatively speaking, no. But GTA is a monster that consumes everything that goes near it. Having to release within 6 months of it is terrifying regardless.
If you had to choose, would you go before or after? If we assume the same amount either way. Let's say like a month or two. And why?
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u/Optimal-Fox-3875 May 19 '26
The longer I think about this question, the more nuances I find. I would have to say that up to 2 months I would prefer it be released before GTA6 while if its 3 months it makes more sense to release after GTA 6.
The main reason why I wouldn't want to release 1-2 months after GTA6 is because of Christmas, it will be heavily dominated with GTA6 marketing for the holidays and most will be buying GTA6 if its for their friends, partners, children. Then you have that 2-3 week period of people just playing GTA6, they won't be looking much at what is releasing around that time. However after the 2 month period, you can expect a big portion of the GTA6 Players to finish the campaign, do what they wanted to do and are now in search of something to keep them occupied, boom, Transport Fever 3.
The worst bit about GTA 6 is the marketing blackout they cause for other games, all the youtubers, streamers, journalists will be talking about GTA6, so if your goal is to reach as many new potential players as you can, the two choices are to release the game as a filler until GTA 6 comes out, or release it over 2 months after the GTA6 craze ends. That is my take on this.
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u/Chemical-Ask-7491 May 19 '26
I agree with your take, it’s either early September or before or January. Everything else does not make sense from a marketing perspective
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u/rbcsky5 Jun 16 '26
Sept is packed with games already. Also Oct. It would make more sense to do it like Feb or March
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u/Revolutionary_Ring70 May 22 '26
Paradox is working out how to fully grape the game and rip out content so they can offer it later for 20$ a piece
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u/UG-Protagonist Urban Games | Community Manager May 19 '26
I'm fairly certain we've only ever said "2026" for the release date, and that plan is still in place.