Steam is home to practically any game one could think of, from niche alternatives and major AAA soulslikes to Stardew-like cozy games and beyond. While the simulator genre has always housed games involving jobs like farming and trucking, more and more developers—and presumably gamers—have been investing in shopkeeping titles. Games like TCG Trading Card Shop Simulator have blown up via streams and YouTube content, while titles that make players a tavern owner in D&D’s world or a blacksmith in a Skyrim-like setting are in the works. And now, Steam’s Probably Stolen is getting in on the fun.
Probably Stolen – A Cyberpunk Shopkeeping Sim is exactly what its title implies, as players will be dealing in illegal, high-tech hardware in the hopes of making enough money to buy out their shop and escape rising rent prices. They’ll “craft, trade, and smuggle” various items while also managing faction loyalties and looking out for undercover androids. On top of that, they’ll need to authenticate their stock, work additional jobs to keep the lights on, and more. For Cyberpunk 2077 players who love all the mods regarding in-game shops, actually being able to run one within this new game could prove to be a dream come true. As of this writing, Probably Stolen has hit 95% Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam, so that speaks to its high quality.
Probably Stolen – A Cyberpunk Shopkeeping Sim Features at a Glance
- RUN the shop by balancing supply and demand, haggling for good deals, and managing machines
- WORK additional jobs like being a water merchant, hydroponic farmer, or even water dealer
- BUILD relationships with certain factions and work politically to do what’s best for the shop
- EXPLOIT or HELP less fortunate citizens
- APPRAISE items and evaluate business partners to avoid getting into hot water
Probably Stolen is a cyberpunk shopkeeping simulator set in a dystopian space station. Craft, trade, and smuggle goods of questionable origin, navigate faction loyalties, and decide how far you’re willing to go to stay afloat. Earn enough to buy out your shop before rising rent forces your hand.
In Probably Stolen, Running the Shop is the Easy Part
In most shop simulation games, the stock is rarely the issue. Players are typically deciding prices, making sure everyone gets served quickly, and handling staffing, being able to put the actual quality of their merchandise out of their minds. However, for Probably Stolen to nail the cyberpunk vibe, incorporating illicit goods and managing the chaos that comes from handling them was a must. In this shop simulator, learning what kind of trouble is worth monetizing is the name of the game.
Players will start off working as a gunsmith, chemist, water merchant, fence, farmer, or from absolute rock bottom as they build up their space station shop. All of these product lines have unique profit curves and ways of “ruining” the seller—water brings liability while weapons bring inspections, whereas contraband can result in raids and chemicals can spark addiction. Every trade is different, giving players a number of distinct jobs to master. They may need good hiding spots for one and heavy machinery permits for another, ensuring that variety is the name of the game.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
Probably Stolen even makes acquiring this already risky stock dangerous, as players may need to inspect cigarette packs before reselling them, filter contaminated water, and modify weapons with illegal parts to add extra value. Suppliers may overstate value, and customers push their luck, so players have to think carefully before every sale and purchase that they make. Contraband items may have issues that go unnoticed until later, forcing shopkeepers to relabel them as genuine or fence them at the risk of security taking notice. If players can keep their rent paid for long enough, they can expand their operation to have multiple businesses, unlocking new merchandise and production opportunities in the process. This will obviously lead to higher rent and greater risk at being caught, ensuring that players are always walking a fine line between success and failure.
Probably Stolen is as Much About Evaluating People as It Is About Selling to Them
To truly succeed in this particular shopkeeper sim, gamers will have to evaluate who they’re selling to based on their personalities and outfits. They could be selling to an undercover security force member, and they’ll need to keep things by the books to avoid detection. They may end up aiding a revolution, or helping a fallen elite rise back to the top, earning themselves a favor that could come in handy later. Shopkeeps can not only approve or reject sales, but also look the other way if they catch a bad actor or report them to the authorities. As they play politics, gamers will build up their reputation with specific factions, which can both grant them protection and paint a target on their backs from opposing groups.
On top of all this—building relationships, mastering different sales tactics, and appraising items—players will have to keep an eye out for machines disguised as humans. Prior to the game’s start point, an AI chip went sentient and corrupted its hosts, using their bodies to carry out a mysterious agenda. Every shop owner on the station has a gun and a license to eliminate any synths they encounter, needing to read the signs and catch the AI-controlled machines in the act. However, misreading a situation can lead to an innocent’s life being taken, which obviously means bad things for the shop. With so much to manage, Probably Stolen players will see just how rough even regular people have it in a dystopian cyberpunk world.
