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.
What’s in store for Early Access?
Detailed Staff Management
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.
Powerful In-Game Design Tools.
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.
Hands-On Managerial Gameplay
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.
Built-In Wiki
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.