Probably Stolen sells 350,000 copies after game overhaul

Probably Stolen sold more than 350,000 copies in its first 24 hours on Steam after publisher TinyBuild worked with Questing Goose Studio to revise the game’s visuals, marketing and gameplay focus. The game has reached a peak of more than 125,000 concurrent players and has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” user rating.

Probably Stolen launched on Steam this week and ended its first day as the platform’s 12th most-played game. Players manage a small storefront that sells goods with “flexible origins” while paying rent, managing loans and avoiding debt collectors.

Players can specialize as a gunsmith, chemist, farmer, fence or water merchant, or start without an established trade. Legal businesses require permits and equipment. Illegal work can bring higher profits and greater risks. Players can build relationships with factions, sell counterfeit goods and lower product quality to increase earnings.

Shop owners inspect incoming products, test water and chemicals, negotiate with suppliers and identify Augs. These people look human but are controlled by a sentient artificial intelligence. The law permits lethal action against Augs, but killing an ordinary person by mistake can cause serious problems.

The game began as a different project called Deepspace Emporium, which used simpler visuals. Its demo reached a peak of 28 players before TinyBuild took notice. In a statement, TinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik said the publisher worked with the developer to “reimagine visuals, marketing, and focus on key gameplay mechanics.”

Probably Stolen is available on Steam for $17.99 or £15.29. A 10% launch discount is scheduled to run through Wednesday, Nov. 11. A bundle combines the game with ReStory, a retro repair simulation also published by TinyBuild.