Spectacular landscapes, dramatic weather and faithfully recreated environments that define the routes of Train Sim World are making way for cardboard cities, box televisions and the world within one’s living room. Train Sim World 3 is going festive with its latest route Add-on and with it comes a challenge on a completely different scale!

The Holiday Express – Runaway Elf sees players shrunk down in size as the driver of a miniature train set, threading its way between living room landmarks bathed in the warm glow of the fire. Running the train through ‘Sofa Central’, round ‘Xmas Tree Loop’ and onward to ‘Television Towers’ and the ‘Blackboard Branch’ evokes childhood memories of Christmastime train sets. But not all is well in this sweet home-from-home…

Players will have to hunt down a mischievous elf, causing mayhem in the final hours of Christmas Eve! Presents and batteries lie scattered around the room in need of tidying and the naughty step awaits once the elf has been captured. With the clock ticking down to midnight, using the train set to travel around the room will require setting the quickest route with points and switches to get to where you’re needed to save Christmas!

A name familiar to longtime fans of Dovetail Games makes its debut in Train Sim World as the Richie Rails brand comes to the rescue! A uniquely liveried F7 locomotive, popular among American model railroaders, gives ample power to pursue the naughty elf and makes the miniaturised train set look perfect in its 1980s domestic setting. But be careful! Just like a real train set, the curves are rather sharp and so catching the elf will require more than just a heavy right… hand?

There are also collectibles to find hidden around the living room and an unlockable toy jeep on hand to assist traversing great distances of many, many inches. Players might also notice the occasional Easter Egg, which despite being an entirely different seasonal holiday, will bring a smile to those enjoying this casual and fun gameplay experience.

For players that are keen to change up their trainset, each of the previous Train Sim World 3 locomotives can be controlled through Scenario Planner, meaning trains from Southeastern Highspeed, Cajon Pass and Kassel-Würzburg, as well as Train Sim World Compatible content, can also whizz between armchairs and sofas this Christmas. Junctions, switches and points can all be manually controlled and there’s not a signal in sight, making the route accessible for even casual railfans. Livery Designer can add a splash of colour too, allowing creative minds to run a truly unique train set.

Train Sim World 3 was released back in September and could be the perfect holiday gift for railfans this December. Deluxe Edition comes with 4 routes, plus the Training Center and Steam, Diesel and Electric locomotives to operate. A number of route Add-ons have been in development since, with Birmingham Cross-City and Bahnstrecke Bremen – Oldenburg released in the last few weeks. The Holiday Express – Runaway Elf may be the perfect route Add-on to close out the year, but more is on its way, with future routes in the works for 2023.

Developed and published by Dovetail Games, Train Sim World 3: The Holiday Express – Runaway Elf Add-on will be available on 13th December 2022. The add-on, which requires prior purchase of Train Sim World 3, will be available for purchase digitally on Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation Store, and Microsoft Store for £7.99/$9.99/€9.99.

Train Sim World 3 is available on Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation®Store, and Microsoft Store with a Deluxe Edition available for £49.99/€59.99/$59.99, Standard Edition available for £39.99/€44.99/$49.99 and regional ‘Starter Packs’ each available for £29.99/€35.99/$39.99.