Dear Retailers!

In this post i will go through following topics:

- Update progress
- Geforce Now
- Starter stores
- Gameplay settings
- Updated employee management
- New storage and delivery units
- More products
- Workshop items
- User created stores

February is already well underway, and it’s been a while since the last update, but we definitely haven’t been idle.

Unfortunately, we had a man down during January and February, which has a big impact when we are such a small team. When that happens, the additional workload falls on me, which naturally slows things down.
That is just how it goes sometimes and, unfortunately it is out of our control, but it means that the intended February update will be pushed a bit.

The goal of this update has been to address many of the things you, the community, have been mentioning over the past period. So instead of constantly running forward and adding more and more features, it felt like it was time to take a step back, look at what is already there, and address the biggest pressure points.
That is exactly what we have done, and we have improved a lot of different areas of the game.

--- Geforce Now ---

Many of you have requested over the past year that the game be added to GeForce Now. Now that cloud saving was added a few updates ago, we could finally move in this direction — and I am happy to say that those of you using this service can now play King of Retail 2 on GeForce Now.

--- Starter stores ---

Many of you have commented that the game is slow to get started — and we understand why. Setting up inventory, designing a store that does not feel like a bunker, selecting products, ordering them, unpacking, and delivering everything can take quite some time.

Sometimes you just want to get started and sell some products.

To support that, we are adding multiple starting scenarios. You can choose between stores of different sizes selling different types of goods. These stores are already set up, shelves are stocked, the HQ has the required rooms, and you can start making profits immediately.

We aim to provide a good variety, with both simpler and more complex starting stores.

--- Gameplay settings ---

Based on your feedback, we are introducing adjustable gameplay settings so you can better tailor the experience to your preferences.

1. Game day progression.

One of the most common pieces of feedback is that the day feels too long. We originally increased the length of the day to make mornings and evenings feel distinct, allow weather to matter more, and give each day more weight.

However, we understand the desire for faster pacing. You can now choose between multiple day lengths.

There are some obvious tradeoffs — for example, customers cannot realistically move twice as fast just because the day is shorter. Rent and wages are time-independent, meaning employees earn the same per hour regardless of day speed. We have balanced this so faster days do not simply make the game harder.

2. Simulation level

King of Retail is a deep simulation — deeper than most games in the genre. Some players love this depth, while others find it overwhelming.

To accommodate different playstyles, we are adding multiple simulation depth levels. You can choose how complex employee management and customer behavior should be.

The current gameplay remains the deepest simulation level. There will also be a level closer to the first King of Retail, and a simpler mode aimed at more casual players.

--- Updated employee management ---

A big focus of this update has been on making the game more accessible, easier to manage, and easier to understand. A lot of work has therefore gone into employee management.

1. Employee conversations and negotiations

Now that some of you are running multiple stores with evolving employees, you should of course be able to manage them as you see fit. You can now promote employees and transfer them between stores.

This is handled through the new conversation system, where you receive feedback from employees on your suggestions and can immediately see the result of your actions.

2. Employee overview

The previous overview screen required a lot of scrolling and clicking to get the information needed to manage employees — especially when running larger stores with many staff members.

This screen has now been reworked into something more familiar from the first King of Retail, with the addition of sorting and filtering options. Never has it been easier to get the employee information you need.

3. Employee scheduling

This leads into the next improvement: scheduling. Previously, scheduling required jumping back and forth between individual employees and the daily schedule to make everything line up.

This has now been addressed with a completely new scheduling screen. You still have the original option, but you can now also view the store schedule day by day and assign employees and roles directly from this screen.

You can sort by position or team and filter out employees who are not working on a given day — a huge time-saver for anyone managing multiple employees.

4. Employee simplification

We also took a close look at employee complexity and evaluated what adds meaningful depth and what is simply frustrating. Previously, employees had both a skill and a preference for every task, which — when combined with schedule preferences and store needs — became too much.

Employees now only have skills, and task preferences have been removed. We also cleaned up a few other systems here and there. (Further down, I will go into the options for players who want even less management.)

While working on this cleanup, we also updated the negotiation screen and added several quality-of-life improvements — for example, initial demands are now pre-filled for those who just want to hire staff quickly.

--- New storage and delivery units ---

The next point on the list is more storage content.
As some of you are getting bigger stores, your storages is also getting bigger. Because of the limited selection of storage units, that means a lot of pallets and a lot of shelves. Well, this ends now.

We will be introducing various units to use in both smaller and bigger stores.

1. Delivery units.

In addition to standard pallets, you can now choose between caged pallets and solid steel cages. These save space (at a higher cost) and can hold the equivalent of six pallets.

For larger warehouse-style setups, automated delivery units are also available. These assist employees during unpacking and can reduce unpacking time by up to 65%. They require more space and are more expensive — but offer significant efficiency gains.

Which approach will you choose?

2. Storage units

Storage has received similar upgrades. Smaller options have been added — including a compact refrigerator and half-height shelves — for stores where space is limited.

More importantly, larger units are now available. You can buy a full walk-in freezer and two larger shelf units, with the biggest holding the equivalent of 13 standard shelves. No more managing endless rows of small units — unless you want to.

--- New products ---

We have continued adding new products, especially within electronics, which needed significant expansion. New computer components include CPUs, RAM, motherboards, hard drives, network cards, keyboards, and mice.

We are also aiming to add phones before the following update to further diversify the category.

(this is only a part of all the added products)

This covers the largest changes coming in the next update. We have also added several smaller improvements and fixed a number of bugs.

I am also planning to update the End of Day screen to provide clearer feedback on product sales, employee performance, customer reactions, and reputation changes — helping you better understand what is working and what is not.

--- Workshop items ---

The Workshop continues to grow and now includes 84 construction and decoration items, as well as 113 displays. Thank you to everyone contributing content for the entire community.

Special thanks go to Eyjafjallajoekulltarantul, who has created the majority of new decorative items — including cars, carts, playground equipment, ATM stands, and much more.

--- Player stores ---

I am constantly impressed by the creativity of players when designing stores.

Thanks to Workshop items, shapes, and some clever poster usage, BusfahrerNico surprised me with this massive custom-made parking lot — a fantastic-looking setup.

User konny has also created a beautifully detailed mall with well-designed stores — a pleasure to look at.

Finally, our leaderboard leaders — the current #1 and #2 players — have shared their massive stores, showing what it truly takes to become Kings of Retail.

-----------------------

That was a lengthy update with a lot of information about what is coming. If you have made it this far — thank you for reading!

We are now adding the final touches, rounding off implementations, and moving into testing. The update is planned for release in the first half of March.

We have chosen to deliver one healthy, substantial update addressing many of the community’s concerns rather than several smaller updates. Each update carries its own overhead in testing and preparation, and this approach allows us to deliver more meaningful improvements overall.

Feel free to join our Discord here:

Until next time — take care, and have a great sale!
// Daniel