This new shop sim game is doing gangbusters on the Steam charts

I always thought having a shop on the promenade of Deep Space Nine would be kind of neat; all of the weird and wonderful people using the station as a thoroughfare for their weird, and I assume, often wonderful trips around the galaxy. There's a game that's doing absolute gangbusters on Steam right now that gives me a little taste of that, and it's called Probably Stolen.

More Cyberpunk than optimistic future, sure, but it's still a shop, and the clientele are still strange, so I'll take it. Probably Stolen is part of that shop sim resurgence we've seen lately - some have you repairing trinkets, some have you cleaning up, some are just… running a shop. Which is fine. Probably Stolen is part of the latter, but adds a whole other layer of depth to proceedings.

You run a shop; rent is due, and you have to sell items to keep your head above water. Fairly simple, but when you add in the setting and the fact that you can dip your toe into things that are less than legal, it starts to get interesting. Customers arrive at your window and make requests, and if you have something suitable in stock, you can sell it to them.

This is the base level. Eventually, you can start to combine items yourself to maximize profit; you can take on illegal shipments with the hopes of turning a profit before the authorities get wind of it and inspect your shop. Examine items to appraise their value, build and cultivate relationships with the various factions in your area - it's a lot, and if the Steam reviews are anything to go by, it's really good.

One player wrote, "Hid my storage chest with my most expensive stuff in the trashcan during a surprise [police] inspection and forgot to take it out. Garbage collector becomes richest man overnight." while another spiked their product, "I am a humble water dealer. Times were tough, so I put opium in the water to increase sales. It worked."

The balance of scope and execution warrants the 174k peak concurrents on Steam, and the fact that Probably Stolen is under $20 makes this a must-buy for me. It's the kind of niche I can see myself settling down in.