Revision 11

Trade sits at the center of the shared universe in SpaceCraft. The economy is player-driven, which means the players themselves set supply, demand, and prices.

A Player-Driven Marketplace

You buy and sell resources, ship parts, and blueprints with other players. Crucially, each marketplace transaction affects prices, so the economy of the universe responds to what players do. You can participate in and adapt to this economy, reacting to shortages and surpluses as they happen. In game, you reach the shared marketplace through a terminal called the Trade Nexus. It is part of the online galaxies; in the separate Solo Offline Mode it is unavailable, since that mode runs without other players. Buying through the Trade Nexus is also subject to a transaction tax on purchases, which a late-July 2026 update lowered to 8%; because the game is in active balancing, the exact rate can change between patches.

Sell orders do not sit on the Trade Nexus forever. Since Community Update #1 on September 16, 2026 a sell order expires after 14 days, and it is also cancelled if you leave your Corporation, switch quadrant, or reset your account. The same update closed several credit exploits: sales and sell orders can no longer exceed the credit cap, and the credit limit can no longer go negative. See Updates and Patch Notes.

Services, Missions, and Contracts

Trading is not limited to goods. You can also buy and sell blueprints, accept or offer services, and take on or post missions and contracts. This lets players provide value to each other beyond raw materials, for example by offering work or commissioning tasks.

What You Can Trade

Trading at Scale

Trade pairs naturally with organization and automation. Through Corporations you can coordinate larger commercial operations, and through automated logistics you can move goods between planets and systems at scale. See Corporations and Co-Op and Automation and Logistics.

Credits and NPC Trading

Credits are the standard currency in SpaceCraft, used for everything from unlocking permits to paying station commissions. Alongside trading with other players, you can buy needed items from NPCs; this is faster than waiting for another player to sell, but less efficient, so relying on it drains your Credits quickly. See Progression: Permits and Experience.

Corporation Requests

Organized trade connects to Corporation Requests, time-sensitive contracts from station NPCs that reward delivering large quantities of goods. Meeting them rewards Corporation currencies and depends on solid production and logistics. See Corporations and Co-Op.