Focus Entertainment announces the acquisition of 100% of Railsimulator.com, the parent company of the group Dovetail Games (DTG), along with management. This UK-based developer and publisher has become a benchmark in train simulation.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome the talented and passionate teams of Dovetail Games to the Focus Group," said Sean Brennan, CEO of Focus Entertainment. “The studio and its intellectual properties are a very good complement for us and perfectly match the strategy of the Focus range, with unique, captivating and definitive simulation games celebrated by players around the world. »
Jon Rissik, CEO of Dovetail Games, adds: “From our first meeting with Sean and the team at Focus, it was clear that we share a lot in common, including a deep-rooted passion for simulation games […] As a company, we are ambitious and believe the publishing and distribution power of Focus will amplify our own talents as a digital publisher, enabling us to grow in key markets such as North America, with a access to a wider network of resources and new monetization opportunities. […]”
With simulation franchises such as Train Simulator Classic and Train Sim World, Dovetail Games has shown its expertise in creating, engaging and entertaining a large and loyal community of millions of gamers around the world.
For years, the studio has adopted a business model based on synergies between the release of full games and a strong content strategy (DLC) offering recurring revenue. Dovetail has created and maintains an extensive library more than 900 DLCs, providing players with a constant stream of new content and updates.
Dovetail Games and the press
On our side, on a more personal level, we hope that this acquisition will put a little kick in the anthill. It is indeed very difficult (if not impossible) for many media and influencers to work hand in hand with the publisher/developer on the releases of the complete editions of Train Sim World and its many DLCs. Dovetail prefers to focus on its own social networks (often meager in terms of audience) or work with agencies (this is our case for this franchise since we have no direct contact with DTG). This poses a real problem since the feedback from the community is diffuse and not carried by a few influencers for example. Result, TSW ultimately evolves very little in terms of gameplay, while the competition SimRail, produced by independents listening to a large community of players (from Train Sim World among others), manages to do better on many points (Who said multiplayer?).