Probably Stolen: The Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim Whose Demo Had 28 Players Just Sold 750,000 Copies

Two years ago, its demo peaked at 28 players. This week, Probably Stolen: Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim is one of the biggest games on Steam, with a reported 750,000 copies sold in about five days and well over 100,000 people playing at once. Here's what the game is, how a tiny pixel-art shop sim pulled this off, and whether it's worth $20.

Published November 7, 2026.

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Probably Stolen at a glance

What is Probably Stolen?

You run a small pawnshop on a run-down space station. Customers walk up to your window with things to sell, and a lot of it is, well, probably stolen. You decide what each item is worth, what you'll pay, and what you'll do with it afterwards.

The goal is simple and stressful: earn enough to buy out your shop before the rent climbs too high. A counter on the wall keeps reminding you how many days are left until rent is due.

How the game plays

A big part of the game is appraising items. Guides from the station's trade commission tell you what changes the value of things like cybernetic hands: the material, the condition, special features. You inspect the item with a magnifying glass, then send your estimate.

Not everyone at your window is human. Rogue AI can take over people on the station, and a security guide lists the signs: unnatural stillness, twitching, an outfit that doesn't match their faction, overly formal phrasing. Spot one, and you have a choice to make with the pistol under your counter.

Screenshots: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild via Steam

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Crafting, smuggling and side hustles

Buying and selling is only half of it. Your back room fills up with machines: a hydroponic system for growing produce, a furnace, a 3D printer for making goods, and smuggler's containers for the things you'd rather nobody saw. Inventory is a grid you have to pack, so space is always tight.

There are even recipes, like fermenting your own Bloomberry wine, and faction contacts you can call for jobs. Before you start a run, you pick starting perks: take negative perks to earn points for positive ones, so every run can feel a little different.

Screenshots: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild via Steam

From 28 players to a Steam hit

This is the part that makes the story fun. The game started life under a different name, Deepspace Emporium. Its demo came out in February 2025 and, according to tinyBuild's CEO Alex Nichiporchik, it peaked at just 28 players at the same time.

tinyBuild liked the idea anyway. The publisher worked with the developers on new art, sharper design and a new name, and the reworked demo landed in Steam Next Fest, where it climbed into Steam's 100 most-played games. By launch day more than half a million people had it on their wishlist.

Then it took off. Reports say it sold about 200,000 copies within hours, more than 350,000 in the first 24 hours, and a reported 750,000 by November 3, according to GameDiscoverCo. Its player count kept climbing for days, which is unusual: most games peak on launch day.

One note: the sales numbers come from the publisher and industry trackers, because Steam doesn't publish sales. The player counts come from SteamDB, which tracks Steam directly.

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Is it worth $20?

If you enjoyed Papers, Please, shop sims or games about squeezing profit out of a bad situation, this looks like an easy yes, and the reviews back that up. It's PC only on Steam for now, and there's a free demo if you want to try before buying. If you play on Steam Deck, it's listed as Playable rather than Verified, so expect a few small tweaks. Need Steam credit? A Steam gift card works too.

My take

I love stories like this. A demo that 28 people played turned into one of the most-played games on Steam, without a giant marketing budget, just because the idea was good and someone helped polish it. It's a nice reminder that small games can still win big. Have you tried it yet, and is the AI-spotting as tense as it looks?