Before its scheduled launch on October 28, 2026, Probably Stolen was playable in two pre-release forms: an open Steam playtest that started on August 3, 2026, and a free demo released on September 14, 2026. Both received regular patches, and the developers used playtest feedback to shape the demo.
Open Playtest
tinyBuild announced the game on August 3, 2026, with an open playtest available the same day. Two patches followed within the week: Patch 48.3.10 added the Rock Bottom hard mode scenario and new water upgrades, and Patch 48.3.12 revealed the Rat Wrangler, a secret starting scenario that had been hidden on the profession selection screen from the start. Full patch notes are on Update History.
Milestones
On August 28, 2026, the developers announced that the game had reached 100,000 wishlists and that 100,000 players had tried the playtest. The same post announced the demo for September 14 and said the official community server had about 7,500 members.
Playtest Ledger
On September 9, 2026, the developers shared a summary of the playtest's first month. The figures below come from the infographic in that post.
Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
Unique players | 180,000 |
Players with more than 20 hours | 45,000 |
Surveys filled | 6,000 |
Median playtime | 5 hours 30 minutes |
Average playtime | 15 hours |
Community server members | 9,500 |
Messages sent on the community server | 225,000 |
Minutes spent in voice chat | 58,000 |
Suggestions submitted | 1,700 |
Bugs reported | 1,183 |
Threads in playtest discussions | 620 |
Threads in main game discussions | 100 |
The post said players wanted more of nearly everything: more unique customers, starting perks, items and machines, plus more store customization. Gambling and the Rock Bottom scenario were singled out as popular.
The Demo
The demo launched on September 14, 2026 with Update 049, on the same day the release date was revealed during tinyBuild's livestream showcase. Saves from the playtest can be transferred to the demo. The demo store page lists its content as follows:
Demo Content | Details |
|---|---|
Starting scenarios | 3 starting scenarios plus a hardcore mode |
Water Merchant | The water testing and purification kit is available from the start |
New machine and item | One new early-game machine and a matching item |
Toolbox | A new item that stores tools and binds them to number keys |
Bottle Printer | Can now be upgraded |
Vacuum Robot | Can now be upgraded |
Languages | English, German, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese |
The demo is free, single-player and Windows only. Its store page notes that the game is pixel art at a native 16:9 aspect ratio and runs in a window on 21:9 and 32:9 monitors; see System Requirements. Starting options are described on Starting Scenarios and Perks.
Aquafarmer Update
On October 19, 2026, the demo received a content update called Aquafarmer. It adds a new Wild's Network upgrade, Retired Aquafarmer, which sells the equipment needed to raise fish in tanks. The post noted that its animated previews show updated interface work meant for the full release, not the current demo. Details are on Animal Farming.
Reception
As of October 20, 2026, user reviews on the demo's store page were 98% positive across 1,946 reviews. The developers have not announced whether demo saves will transfer to the full game; as of October 20, 2026, the only confirmed save transfer is from the playtest to the demo.