Probably Stolen key art — Screenshots © Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild (official Steam store media)

Probably Stolen Guide

Rent is due, the customer at the counter might be an Aug, and that bottle of water could kill someone. This guide sticks to what the developers' patch notes, Steam's own data and players' tested reports actually say — every page names its sources and the patch it was checked against.

Last checked Nov 1, 2026

Released: Oct 28, 2026 · latest patch 1.0.0.6 (Oct 31)

Developer: Questing Goose Studio · published by tinyBuild

Platform: Steam, Windows only — no console or Mac version announced

Price: $19.99 / £16.99 / €19.99 ($17.99 until Nov 11)

Starts: 9 starting scenarios · 4 difficulties

Achievements: 21 · rarest: Rock Bottom win on hard (0.7%)

Basics

Beginner Guide: Your First Week▶ VideoFirst run: pick Apprentice on Mark Up (Normal) and play the tutorial — the Mentor leaves 18 notes that explain every system. Pay rent (200) every 7 days, inspect before you buy (Magnifying Glass from Day 3), join the Appraiser Board for steady fees, and call Joe Wild (8376) once his card arrives on Day 7. Save toward the Business Permit (1,500 by Day 45) and then the 12,000 deed. Don't hand Eleanor the Care Package, don't touch Lou's toy box, and don't shoot customers you're unsure about.
All 9 Starting Scenarios – Which One to PickThere are 9 starting scenarios: Apprentice (generalist — the developers' pick for beginners), Water Merchant, Fence, Gunsmith, Chemist, Hydroponic Farmer, Aquafarmer, Rat Wrangler and Rock Bottom (start with nothing, maximum difficulty). After the scenario you pick one of 4 difficulties and spend points on starting perks — negative perks give you points to spend on positive ones. Start with Apprentice; play Rock Bottom only for the two From Nothing achievements.
Platforms, Price & Languages (PS5, Switch, Mac, 中文, 한글)Probably Stolen is Steam on Windows only (out Oct 28, 2026). No PS5, Xbox, Switch, Mac or Android version has been announced. Steam Deck is rated Playable; there's no controller support and it's single-player only. It costs $19.99 / £16.99 / €19.99 ($17.99 with the launch discount until Nov 11). Text languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish, French, German, Polish and Japanese — no official Traditional Chinese (繁體中文) or Korean (한글) — fan translations exist on the Steam Workshop.
Patch Notes, Updates & RoadmapThe latest patch is 1.0.0.6 (Oct 31, 2026), a modding security update that may break some mods and adds a second 'Menu / Back' key. The biggest balance change so far was 1.0.0.2 (Oct 28): Moisture Farm 650 → 350, Water Filter 50 → 25, Dr. Jackson's markup 25% → 15% on Normal, and Lou can no longer be shot; 1.0.0.5 then cut the Water Purifier from 300 to 250. Promised next (no dates): the Junker, Organ Trader and Street Food Vendor starts, Expeditions, new appraisal items and a bigger main storyline.
Rent, the Loan Shark & Buying the StoreRent is 200 credits every 7 days (Sundays) and rises every rent day — 5% on Mark Up (Normal), 10% on Thin Margins and Red Ink. You win by buying the store: on a rent day with enough cash the Landlord offers the deed — 12,000 on Mark Up, 36,000 on Red Ink, flat until Day 50 and rising daily after. The Loan Shark (from Day 5) offers a mortgage instead — on Mark Up reportedly 2,000 down, then 930 a week for 12 weeks, paid instead of rent — but with a mortgage you can't pay the deed off early. Don't forget the Business Permit (1,500 on Mark Up), enforced from Day 45.
Best Starting Perks & Every Perk ExplainedYou start with 3 points and 4 perk slots; negative perks give extra points. The perk screen has a second tab (that's why some guides count 36 perks and others 48). Players' favourite core: Vigilant (2 points — never robbed at night, so no theft insurance) + Sawyer's Crew (1 — Underground Exchange from day one and no janitorial fee), plus Colorful Character (1 — +3 slots) to fit more. Avoid Sentinel Collapse Disorder on a first run — the developers say so themselves.

Production

Chemistry Guide: Recipes, Evaporator & Lab Pure▶ VideoEvery drug follows the same chain: Blender → Heating Plate (extract in alcohol) → clean with acid/base, Kotton and a water filter → Evaporator overnight → Chem Finisher. Finisher doses: Dream Dust 2 mL, Nightmare Dust 4 mL, Caffeine Pill 5 mL, Phanta Pill 0.5 mL, Nomore Injector 4 mL. Keep Dream/Nightmare mush below 50°C (40–49°C) and Phanta below 130°C (110–129°C). The batch must be completely dry before the Finisher, and Lab Pure needs all 4 Chem Modules in the Finisher plus 99%+ purity.
Water Guide: Grades, Purifier & Pure Water▶ VideoWater has six grades by purity: Gutterflow (<90%), Rustwater (90–96%), Ghostwater (96–98%, the classic fake), Basewater (98–99%, ~40 credits per litre), High-Quality (99–99.9%) and Pure Water (99.9%+). For Pure Water you need a Water Purifier (250) with at least +100 Quality from modules — without modules it stops at 99%. In 1.0 the filter no longer removes microbes: kill them with a purification tablet or UV lamp first.

Shop

Appraisal & Spotting Fakes (Ribwich, Hands, Cigarettes)▶ VideoThere are two systems. Spotting fakes (from Day 3, when the Mentor gives you the Magnifying Glass): drag the glass onto an item, find one discrepancy against its manual, tick it and press Confront — a confirmed fake gets you a discount, a wrong call costs reputation. Appraisal (join the Appraiser Board for 85 credits on Normal): customers bring an item and you set its value; within 5% is Perfect. Ranks go Junior (Cybernetic Hands) → Appraiser (Ribwich) → Senior (Plasma Cartridges) → Master.
How to Spot (and Shoot) AugsAugs are people taken over by a rogue AI chip. The reliable tells: they stand unnaturally still (no idle bobbing), talk in robotic, overly formal lines ('This unit requires…'), buy only medical or material supplies, usually 'for someone else', and wear clothes that don't fit their faction. Shoot them with the shotgun on the right side of the counter. Shooting a real human starts a manslaughter investigation, and letting too many Augs through can end the run. Dr. Jackson sells an Aug Scanner.
Factions & ReputationReputation is tracked per faction: Lower Levels, Upper Levels, Security, Black Market and Revolution, plus the Sector 13 Cartel on chemist runs. Trading with a faction's customers and doing their requests raises it; reporting, refusing and crimes against them lower it. Hitting −100 with any faction except the Black Market ends the run (Lynched, Assassinated, Framed, Bombed, Retired). Security is the easiest to max for the Diplomatic achievement — report wanted criminals (+5 each) and take Model Citizen.

Characters

Characters & Storylines (Serpico, Georgio, Lun …)1.0 finished four storylines — Eleanor, Lou, Officer Lun and cadet Serpico — and added more of Georgio. The ones people get stuck on: Serpico needs at least 2,000 kcal of food left on the ground at the Dumping Grounds over 3 nights (impossible with the Maimed perk); Eleanor's Care Package is a trap; Lou only matters if you report her; and Georgio's Liquid Luck (free around Day 27) is the key to the scratcher jackpot.
Eleanor's Storyline & the Care Package▶ VideoDon't give Eleanor the Care Package. It's a trap: if she takes it, Security arrests her on the spot. When the man (her 'uncle') tries to hand you the package, report him to Security — you get the bounty and Eleanor later thanks you with a reward (HydraTech Micro Water Purifier or L'ESSENCE perfume). Help her instead with accepted trades of food or household goods. Her story starts around Day 23 and doesn't end your run.
Lou: Report Her or Not, the Toy Box & the BombLou is the criminal mastermind at the top of the Wanted list (1,500 bounty) and only shows up after you buy the Business Permit. If you don't report her, she leaves and never comes back. If you do report her you get the 1,500 — then her revenge: a planted (fake) bomb, a toy box you must leave completely untouched until she collects it (trash it or take anything = a real bomb and the run ends), and finally a 1,500-credit demand. Since patch 1.0.0.2 she can't be shot.
Wanted List: All 9 Criminals & Who to ReportThere are 9 wanted criminals worth 3,600 credits in total: Lou 1,500, the Butcher 450, Li Bei Wen 400, James Bailey 300, Odin Haraldsson 300, Leroy 300, Juan 125, John Smith 125 and Arthur Lafleur 100. Report one by comparing the face with the poster and holding the teal Call Security button (+5 Security rep; a false report costs rep and a 50-credit fine). Most are worth more spared: don't report John Smith (weekly big food buyer) or the Butcher (he hunts you at night if you do).

Progress

All 21 Achievements (with Unlock Rates)✓ ChecklistProbably Stolen has 21 Steam achievements. The rarest on Nov 1, 2026: From Nothing, the Hard Way (win from Rock Bottom on hard, 0.7%), From Nothing (win from Rock Bottom, 1.1%), Clean Hands (win without ever selling a stolen or contraband item, 1.2%) and Green Thumb (grow a Huge Nutrifruit, 1.7%). Only 15.2% of players have bought out the store so far (Keys to the Kingdom).
Endings: How to Win & Every Way to Lose▶ VideoThere are two wins: pay the Landlord the deed price in cash on a rent day, or make the Loan Shark's final mortgage payment. Both end with a stats screen and a Continue button. allthings.how counts 15 losing endings: missed rent, repossession, arrest, execution, −100 reputation with Security, Lower Levels, Upper Levels, Revolution or the Cartel (Framed, Lynched, Assassinated, Bombed, Retired), Lou's two bombs, No Permit, and three tied to specific perks. The developers plan to change the main ending in a future update.