We’ve seen plenty of indie games smash their way into the Steam charts this year, but Probably Stolen is proving remarkably sticky so far. The cyberpunk shopkeeping sim where you act as a trader, smuggler, and repairman aboard a dystopian space station is still pulling in hundreds of thousands of players consistently more than two weeks after launch. It’s been outpacing titans such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, Valve’s Deadlock, and Aion 2, and with a 95% review average from players it’s earned the ‘overwhelmingly positive’ marker. Now, we’ve got a closer look at what the next few months hold.
Developer Questing Goose Studio did already put out a Probably Stolen roadmap shortly after launch, but it was pretty vague, and the team has responded to player feedback asking for a slightly better look at what lies ahead. Things start with a first major update in mid December. This will introduce another starting scenario, the Junker, which comes with its own special starting perk and a selection of new items. You can get a preview of some of their sprites down below, with all manner of broken-down machinery to get your hands on.
The December update will also introduce the ability to hire and equip scavs to send out on expeditions for you. Alongside that comes a “minor expansion” to the Fence class, which already feels like one of the stronger options due to its smuggler compartment to dodge security checks, and its quick access to the underground exchange. “Also likely” (according to Questing Goose) is a small upgrade to the Gunsmith, with shotgun shells, 25mm grenade rounds, a tier-three handmade SMG, and armor all on the cards.
The other two updates are less set in stone time-wise, with the next currently scheduled for late January. It’ll add another starting scenario, this time for the Organ Dealer, where you’ll kick off your career buying organs off the market to fulfill requests, before learning ways to “grow or print” organs of your own. There will be new machines, a system to filter blood and remove various diseases, along with the ability to hire some black-market thugs for your expeditions to ‘acquire’ fresh organs. I’m sure it’s totally ethical.
The third update is penciled in for April, and it’ll introduce a more cheerful starting scenario, the Street Food Vendor, which comes with its own new restaurant space. You’ll have the ability to prepare a range of food from across various cultures, including the introduction of Chinese food, drinks, and desserts. To further support this, Questing Goose plans expansions to both the Aquaculture and Hydroponics mechanics.
The developer notes that while these are its current plans, there may be some changes to the schedule as work progresses. “Please treat this as our best and most good-faith effort,” it writes. “We’ll keep you updated.” It also states that you can expect continued “bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements” throughout November, and in the future as needed, and adds that, while the roadmap only looks six months ahead, “We’re committed to supporting Probably Stolen for the long run, with more updates planned beyond that.”
At this point you don’t really need me to tell you to check out Probably Stolen, but if this latest roadmap has pushed you over the edge to do so, then you’ll find it on Steam, as more than a million players have already done.