About the Game
The dystopian wastelands are unforgiving. Monitor the status of your wagons in real-time throughout your journey, as each serves a distinct and vital purpose. Prevent system failures and keep the gears turning, this rolling empire is your only ticket to survival.
Defend your train against the looming threat of rogue drones. Let your advanced turret system automatically hunt down enemies while you focus on strategy... Or take direct control and enjoy blasting targets to pieces with your own hands!
Haggle with merchants once you reach safe havens. Buy and sell vital mechanical parts for profit, and use your earnings to upgrade your train for the ruthless cross-border journeys ahead. The right upgrade is the fine line between life and death.
How you reach the next stop is entirely up to you. Take dangerous shortcuts to save precious time, or opt for safer but agonizingly long routes. Every choice in the wasteland comes with a price. Are you ready to pay it?
Screenshots
12 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
Hello, Merchants!
This update focuses on making Mad Merchant easier to learn, improving the Travel experience, and eliminating several UI and save/load issues.
A Brand-New Tutorial
We have introduced a completely redesigned tutorial built around real gameplay actions.
New players will now learn how to:
Purchase wagons and build their first train
Install Energy, Storage, and Collector modules
Select a city and choose a route
Use the travel camera
Operate a Collector and complete manual production
Defend the train against drones
Repair damaged modules
Use the Shop and Contracts panels
The tutorial uses the normal game interfaces instead of opening or controlling panels on the player’s behalf. Objectives, highlights, progress counters, and information cards guide the player without interfering with the regular UI flow.
The entire tutorial and its related pop-ups are now localized.
Travel and Production Improvements
Collector modules now use the same production workflow as other production modules. Players can open the Production panel and use the Start Production, Stop Production, and Manual Production controls consistently.
If a journey ends before the Travel tutorial objectives are completed, the remaining Travel steps are automatically skipped so the tutorial cannot become stuck.
Fast Travel Changes
Fast Travel now:
Displays a confirmation pop-up
Requires payment before activation
Grants less experience than completing a journey normally
This keeps Fast Travel convenient without making regular travel obsolete.
Module and Drone Improvements
Module durability indicators now transition from green to red as durability decreases.
The locomotive can no longer be selected as a regular module from the module list.
Drones can now use a randomized skeletal mesh when a wave begins, adding more visual variety to encounters.
UI Improvements
Added fade-to-black transitions between City and Travel sequences.
Corrected the placement of repair, Fast Travel, tutorial, and confirmation pop-ups.
Fixed several cases where overlays could block buttons underneath them.
Improved tutorial target highlighting and interaction permissions.
Fixed incorrect Travel page selection inside the root HUD.
Fixed the Travel HUD disappearing after returning to the main menu and continuing the game.
Save and Continue Fixes
We corrected an issue where returning to the main menu during Travel could leave the game in a partially restored state after pressing Continue.
Travel state, module runtime data, energy calculations, production systems, and the HUD are now rebuilt together when loading a save. Invalid runtime states are also prevented from overwriting a valid save file.
Thank you for your feedback and continued support!
This hotfix addresses several issues affecting the tutorial:
Fixed button locking and highlighting during tutorial steps.
Fixed tutorial guidance not working correctly in some languages.
Fixed tutorial progression getting stuck after travel.
Players can no longer travel to cities above their level during the tutorial.
Fixed New Game starting incorrectly after returning to the main menu during travel.
Removed irrelevant or incorrectly timed hints.
Fixed progression issues during shop and purchasing steps.
Thank you for your feedback!
Hello merchants,
In this update, we focused on three major systems that make the core loop more goal-driven, interactive, and long-term: Contracts, Prestige, and Manual Production.
Contracts
Cities now offer contracts based on their own needs. These can ask you to deliver specific goods, complete routes, prove your convoy capacity, or meet security requirements.
Contracts are no longer just personal achievements. They are tied to city needs and economy. When you accept a contract, you are helping that city solve a specific problem, and in return you earn money and experience.
You can track active contracts, complete finished ones, or leave contracts you no longer want to pursue.
Prestige (Not include demo version)
The Prestige system has been redesigned around a longer run structure. The first prestige is now balanced around roughly a 2-hour gameplay loop.
To prestige, you need to:
Reach 12 wagons
Complete 6 travels
Reach the required money value
When you prestige, your money, inventory, modules, and module levels reset. Cities stay unlocked, and the tutorial remains completed.
Each prestige permanently increases your maximum wagon count by +3. Prestige also gives global bonuses to both manual and automatic production, making each new run feel stronger and more flexible.
Manual Production
Travel is no longer purely passive. You can still leave the game idle, but if you want to interact more, manual production lets you actively control parts of the production flow during travel.
Our goal is to make 10-12 minute travels feel more meaningful. You can build your module network, improve production through upgrades, prepare for contract goals, and choose how actively you want to play.
Idle play is still supported, but players who want more control now have more to do during travel.
Our Goal
This update is about making the run structure clearer:
Accept contracts from cities, build your production network, produce resources during travel, complete objectives, then prestige into a stronger new run.
We will keep balancing contract rewards, prestige timing, and manual production feel based on your feedback.
See you on the rails, merchants.
Current Release
Build 24706170
Uploaded Oct 20, 2026
System Requirements
How to Install
MadMerchant.exe to play
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
Needed when extracting (WinRAR / 7-Zip) — not a site login.
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Download Mad Merchant for PC with a direct link or via torrent. Get the full version of Mad Merchant for free. Mad Merchant is a Action released by Ravenholm Interactive.