Probably Stolen, the cyberpunk shopkeeping simulator that sold more than 350,000 copies in its first 24 hours, originally began as a little-known Steam project called Deepspace Emporium. The earlier game’s demo peaked at just 28 concurrent players before publisher tinyBuild worked with developer Questing Goose Studio to overhaul its visuals and refine its design.
TinyBuild CEO Alex Nichiporchik revealed the development history in an October 29, 2026, social media post, explaining that the publisher saw potential in the original project despite its limited audience. The transformation eventually produced one of Steam’s most successful recent independent launches.
Deepspace Emporium first released a playable demo in February 2025. SteamDB records show that it reached an all-time peak of 28 simultaneous players on March 1, 2025. The original Steam listing remains accessible, showing a science-fiction shopkeeping simulator built around trading goods, managing rent and navigating competing factions aboard a dystopian space station.
Nichiporchik said tinyBuild was impressed by the original concept and gameplay, leading the publisher to collaborate with the developer on a substantial redesign. The changes focused on reinventing the game’s visual presentation and concentrating on the design elements that worked best.
The resulting game, Probably Stolen – Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim, retained the original project’s central premise while introducing a more developed presentation of its pawnshop management systems.
Probably Stolen launched for Windows PC through Steam on October 28, 2026. Within its first 24 hours, the game sold more than 350,000 copies and surpassed 112,000 concurrent players, according to figures announced by tinyBuild and the development team. The publisher also said it entered Steam’s 15 most-played games during its opening day.
The game’s success followed substantial interest in its updated demo. Probably Stolen was among the most-played titles during Steam Next Fest in October 2026, alongside other prominent upcoming PC releases.
The finished game puts players in charge of a pawnshop aboard a space station, where they buy, sell and evaluate merchandise while trying to stay ahead of mounting rent payments. Customers include individuals connected to competing political and criminal factions, and the player’s transactions can affect their standing with those groups.
Its management systems include bargaining, identifying counterfeit goods, crafting products and operating production equipment. Players can also pursue different business specializations, including gunsmithing, chemistry, farming and trading water.
Certain goods require permits, while dealing in restricted merchandise can attract inspections from authorities. These mechanics build on the trading and survival concepts already present in Deepspace Emporium.
The contrast between the two releases is particularly striking because the original demo’s 28-player peak was recorded publicly on SteamDB, rather than being an estimate of its audience. That figure measures the highest number of simultaneous players, not total downloads or everyone who tried the demo.
Similarly, the 350,000-copy launch milestone comes from the publisher’s announcement rather than independently audited sales data.
The development history illustrates how Probably Stolen evolved from a small independent project into a much larger Steam release with publisher support. Its underlying shopkeeping concept remained recognizable, but tinyBuild’s involvement helped reshape how the game was presented and developed before its October 28 launch.
Probably Stolen – Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim is available on Steam for Windows PC.
