Ludography
88/100
Players7 ratings
85/100
Critics2 reviews
More scores
Metacritic8 critic reviews
81/100
Metacritic usersuser score
84/100
GameFAQsEasy-Just Right
3.7/5
Player reviews
90% positive2,688 reviews
Steam Deck
Playable
Runs on
Windows, Mac
Price
US$19.99

Where to get it

RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic cover

2016 · City-building · Simulation

RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic

Timed Nintendo exclusive

RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is a new RCT experience, combining the best features from two of the most successful and beloved RCT games in the series’ history – RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2.

Also known as
RCTClassic.exe · RollerCoaster Tycoon® Classic™ Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
Released
2016
Platforms
iOSAndroidmacOSWindowsNintendo SwitchPlayStation 5Xbox Series X/SNintendo Switch 2PlayStation 4Xbox One
Genres
City-buildingSimulationStrategy
Developers
—
Publishers
—
Series
RollerCoaster Tycoon
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
BusinessSandbox
Country
United Kingdom
Age ratings
PEGI 7ESRB E
Languages
Chinese (Simplified)DutchEnglishFrenchGermanItalianSpanish (Spain)
Time to beat
13hmain story430hcompletionist
Composers
Allister Brimble

About

RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic is a construction and management simulation video game developed by Origin8 Technologies and published by Atari. The game is a port of both RollerCoaster Tycoon and RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 combined into a single game; both games were originally created by Chris Sawyer for the PC and utilize the same game engine. RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic also includes RollerCoaster Tycoon's two original expansion packs, Added Attractions (also known as Corkscrew Follies) and Loopy Landscapes, with the option to purchase the RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 expansions Wacky Worlds and Time Twister as DLC. RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic was released for Android and iOS in December 2016 and for Microsoft Windows and macOS in September 2017.

A Nintendo Switch port was released on December 5, 2024, while a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S port was released on March 27, 2026. Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One ports were released on May 28 of the same year.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Classic implements the same gameplay as the first two games in the RollerCoaster Tycoon series. Played from an isometric view, players are tasked with building or revitalizing an amusement park by adding rides, attractions, facilities, paths, landscaping, and staff to manage the park. In particular, the game allows players to plan out a wide array of custom roller coasters and other rides using tracks, such as log flumes and go-karts. The player also must manage the park's finances to make sure they bring in sufficient revenues from guests to cover the cost of running the park and installing new features.

Development

Chris Sawyer had developed the original RollerCoaster Tycoon and its sequel RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, which released respectively in 1999 and 2002. The games had come out of his work developing a sequel to Transport Tycoon, which he released in 1994. Sawyer allowed Frontier Developments to develop RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 while he worked on Locomotion, a 2004 spiritual successor to Transport Tycoon.

Sawyer re-emerged in 2010 with the opening of 31X Ltd., his holding company for his Transport Tycoon intellectual property, and took 31X in a direction towards mobile development. Sawyer recognized that there was a demand for a game that used the more simple controls and graphics offered in the original Tycoon games, which worked well for mobile and touch-screen devices. In 2013, he announced the mobile version of Transport Tycoon, developed with Origin8. With Origin8's help, Sawyer was able to convert the original Transport Tycoon code from a form that relied heavily on assembly code to transfer it into a more portable form. Origin8 continued to work with Sawyer to help port RollerCoaster Tycoon into a similar mobile format.

Reception

Bob Fekete of iDigitalTimes praised the game for faithfully porting the original games on mobile devices for a low price tag, but criticized the game's "cramped" feel and occasionally low framerates. Alex Olney of Nintendo Life praised the game, opining that the Nintendo Switch port is "the best way to play this classic in your living room." However, Olney criticized the lack of touch-screen support as well as some performance issues when the game is zoomed out.

Kotaku Australia was critical of the release, citing the system specification requirements—which are considerably higher than that of the original games—and the lack of multiplayer support, which had been added to the original game via the community-driven OpenRCT2 project. In 2022, an update to OpenRCT2 would allow the use of RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic as a base install path, rather than the original games.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

Releases by platform
PlatformReleasedRegions
iOS20 December 2016Worldwide · North America 22 December 2016
Android22 December 2016North America · Worldwide 22 December 2016
Windows28 September 2017Worldwide · North America 28 September 2017
macOS28 September 2017Worldwide
Nintendo Switch5 December 2024Worldwide
PlayStation 527 March 2026Worldwide
Xbox Series X/S27 March 2026Worldwide
PlayStation 428 May 2026Worldwide
Xbox One28 May 2026Worldwide
Nintendo Switch 228 May 2026Worldwide

Title IDsone per regional release, with its latest update

Title ids and disc serials by release
PlatformTitle IDRegionLatest update
Nintendo Switch01003D101FF0C000—v6
PlayStation 4CUSA56024North America01.01

Decompilations and portscommunity projects that rebuild or port the game

Editions and related releases

Based on
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2RollerCoaster Tycoon

In the same series

Games like this

Collections5 collections

Years

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.