Hello, dear retailers!

As discussed a couple of weeks ago, I’m rolling out additional updates to the alpha build and also the demo in this case, in the lead-up to the Early Access launch on the 22nd of May.

There’s a fair bit to go through, so, whether you’re a demo player or an alpha tester, you’ll be able to jump in today and take these changes out for a spin.

Please keep the feedback coming on how 0.0.7 is working for you, and let’s jump into it!

MAJOR FIXES

• Added a Graphics option in the menu, letting you customize your resolution, texture quality, shadows, and more. This should help with getting the game running well on your system, but please do share your feedback on this, as it’s still a work in progress and will see continued iteration.
  
• The entire HQ/Staff management system has received a major overhaul, with a new hiring system, staff overviews, employee negotiations, drop-in applications, and a redesigned scheduling system.
  
• Recruitment has been moved exclusively to meeting rooms in your HQ.
  
• Stores can now be closed down, and in that process, their articles may be sold or transferred to a different store.
  
• Added the ability to sell or vacate owned property.
  
• Overhauled the Use Display and Searching screens.
  
• Skill and personality filters can now be used when searching for employees.
  
• Added beards, glasses, makeup, and additional morphs to the character creator.

MINOR FIXES

• You can no longer end the day without an active store.
  
• Adjusted city visuals to show properties with grids, instead of empty areas.
  
• The store logo now displays above the relevant shop in the city view.
  
• Replaced the checkbuttons in both sales statistics and staff recruitments
  
• Added a background to the store schedule when in said store.
  
• After the workday ends, you can select where you want to go; e.g. the city or your HQ.
  
• Added various info texts to numerous screens for improved clarity.
  
• Added dimension view to the Buy Display screen
  
• Added the ability to write notes regarding employees when looking at their info.

BUG FIXES

• You can now end the day whenever you want if the store is closed on that day.
  
• The alarm clock now takes closed shops into account.
  
• Fixed a bug where walls going in -X direction would not count walls as being properly looped.
  
• When entering the HQ, you will now always go to the corporation floor.
  
• Customer stats now update properly when opened on the computer.
  
• Selecting a display folder from the designer can now be done with one click.
  
• Folder options are reserved for the display designer only.
  
• You can no longer exceed corporation funds when setting up a new store.
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented staff from having very high single stats.
  
• Fixed a bug that was calculating display heights incorrectly.
  
• Fixed a bug where being busy could lock the inventory screen.
  
• The display screen now shows notifications when your storage is full.
  
• Employees will no longer continue unpacking if storage is full.

BALANCING

• Reduced the gap for how much a segment adds value to an area.
  
• Reduced the effects of customer’s needs decreasing after purchasing an item of clothing or groceries, now making them more inclined to purchase more.
  
• Staff no longer walk around every time there is nothing active to do.
  
• Interacting with the cash register will open the "Edit" menu if a customer is waiting, skipping the radial wheel step.
  
• Adjusted staff personality traits to be more random, and less quality dependent.
  
• Quadrupled the amount of customers at Max reputation
  
• Random entries are reduced from 20% to 10%.
  
• Adjusted prices on household articles.

And that’s all for now!

I hope this patch makes your retail empire-building run more smoothly and efficiently.

Don’t forget to either leave your feedback on the Steam Community tab, or better still, hop into the King of Retail Discord and share your thoughts there.

Remember, King of Retail 2 enters Early Access on May 22nd, and I can’t wait for you to dive in.

Take care, and have a great sale!

Hello, dear retailers!

It’s only been a few days since the last developer update, but as promised, I'm dropping in now to share some important news!

Yes, fellow entrepreneurs. Today, I’m delighted to announce that King of Retail 2 will be officially entering Early Access on the 22nd of May.

King of Retail 2 has been in the works over the last several years, and our release into Early Access is only a brief stop along the way to release. We'll be sharing our full Early Access roadmap in the weeks ahead, but first I'd like to get into what features are currently going into our upcoming Early Access.



In King of Retail 2, staffing is a strategy game in itself: negotiate contracts, manage moods, and balance personalities to build your retail dream team. Every decision matters, from who you hire to how you handle conflict. Every employee has their own habits, behaviors, and flaws.

Different employees have different needs that you'll need to adjust your management strategy around. Some employees *definitely* can't work weekends, while others respond to getting regular performance bonuses. They're not just grunts, they're real people.


We've built several in-game design tools to customize the layout, feel, and color of your store. New to King of Retail 2 is the Display Designer, letting you customize mix-and-match product displays in a variety of styles and finishes.


Run your shop in real time with hands-on gameplay that keeps you close to the chaos. Manage customer flow, solve problems on the fly, and steer your store through the day-to-day madness from the shop floor.


An integrated in-game knowledge base gives you instant access to guides on everything from product categories to staff dynamics. The Wiki will be updated according to new features, products, and gameplay modes that are introduced during Early Access.

Our Early Access release focuses on refining the core loop and expanding player options. Some systems are early versions, while others are great improvements from the original. We’re building toward something bigger, and your feedback will help get us there.

The original King of Retail began a trend of retail management sims over the years. However, it remains unique in its depth of detail, deeply involved simulated gameplay, and the incredible layers of customization that let players build truly unique retail experiences. We hope you're excited for King of Retail 2 and the future features we plan to develop over the course of Early Access.