Relax Gaming has revealed the return of its buried Money Train franchise in September. [Image: Relax Gaming]

Classic backtracking

Relax Gaming has delighted fans of one of the most successful slot franchises of all time…by going back on its word.

explicitly positioned it as “The Last Stand” 

When Relax Gaming rolled out Money Train 4 in 2023, it explicitly positioned it as “The Last Stand,” and the final installment in its record-shattering series.

Over the weekend, however, Relax took to LinkedIn to inform the industry of the return of Money Train, with images of a gala event that transformed a historic former Protestant church in Malta into a post-apocalyptic train station:

On Monday, Relax told fans of the franchise what it had been teasing, the return of the series on September 24 with Money Train 5, a complete U-turn for the studio known for consistently delivering feature-rich, high-payout slots.

Hard act to follow

In a news release, Relax CEO Martin Stålros acknowledged the pressure of “creating a sequel to one of the best series ever made in slot history” stating that expectations for Money Train 5 were high. 

Since it first rolled out in 2019 The Money Train franchise has been nothing short of phenomenal, with each subsequent sequel pushing boundaries further.

The original Money Train with its classic Wild West theme made a splash with its 20,000x max win, while introducing elements from Relax’s Zombie Circus and Temple Tumble series. Money Train 2 and 3 upped the ante with max wins of 50,000x and 100,000x, respectively. 

The so-called finale, Money Train 4, took the max win ceiling to a massive 150,000x and stated that the train had “left the station for its final destination” and that the crew of bandits were riding “the rails for the last time.”

In the early animations of Money Train 5, the Native American and the Man with the Cigar are nowhere to be seen, and instead feature new bandits, including a cowboy in a Mexican Day of the Dead mask.

From the first game, the series stood out for its high-volatility Money Cart Bonus Round that came stuffed with modifiers, persistent features, and its trademark mega-win potential. 

resurrection has created an immediate buzz

The series set the bar for Hold & Win-style games and became one of the most streamed and talked about slot series of the past decade, essentially a cultural phenomenon. It’s no surprise then, that its resurrection has created an immediate buzz in the trade and among players. 

Relax’s Chief Product Officer Tony O’Mahony summed it up, stating that Money Train 5 came from one of the few iGaming franchises “that genuinely create anticipation before they’re even announced.”

Another wild ride ahead?

O’Mahony added that Money Train 5 wouldn’t be a “safe sequel,” saying the goal was instead to “evolve it into something that feels deeper, more unpredictable, and “ultimately more rewarding for the players who are chasing those standout sessions.”

Stålros said that Relax was aware that reviving the series “had to be for the right reasons,” and that the company had to “raise the bar again.”

“Bigger, riskier and more unpredictable. That’s exactly what players can expect,” the CEO promised.