The Capitalist v0.2.0

The biggest update since launch. The world economy now lives and breathes, every screen has a new look, and we ran thousands of simulated playthroughs to make the money honest and the risk real. Here's everything that changed.

A living market

Until now markets mostly drifted sideways and the business cycle was little more than a label. Now the world has a real economy — one that grows, overheats, crashes and recovers — and every company in it, including yours, lives in the same market.

• The economy runs through business-cycle phases: recovery, expansion, late cycle, recession — and every so often a crisis. Over a 50-year career expect four to six recessions, two to four crises and usually one or two bubbles.
• Roughly once every 15–25 years a bubble inflates in one or two hot industries — valuations detach from earnings, then it bursts.
• Inflation is back. Prices are nominal: deals, wages and markets get more expensive over the decades.
• The central bank raises rates when the economy runs hot and cuts them in recessions. Rates now spend most of the game between 1% and 7%.

Timing matters now

A single market valuation index (100 = normal) drives every price in the game, scaled by each industry's sensitivity to the cycle.

• New deals are cheap in a slump and expensive near the top.
• Buyers pay more for your companies in good times, and fewer of them show up in bad ones.
• The IPO window opens in hot markets and shuts in a crash.
• Defensive industries like healthcare barely flinch; hotels, autos and construction swing hard.

Buy the fear, roll up in the quiet years, sell or list near the peak — and don't walk into a crisis with too much debt.

One market, one list of companies

• Every company lives in one registry per industry: the giants, the mid-market, the long tail, your competitors and your own companies.
• Companies for sale on the public boards are real small companies from that registry.
• Grow a company and it climbs the industry ranking — the market share it wins comes from real competitors. Neglect it and rivals overtake you.
• New companies are founded every year, rivals buy each other, private companies go public when markets are hot, and the weak go bankrupt in downturns.
• Most large companies are publicly listed, with a ticker, share price and market cap. Taking them private comes in a later update.

A new look

The game now lives in a penthouse above a city at night, and every screen got the new treatment.

• A living skyline behind the interface — the richer you get, the more windows light up.
• Graphite glass panels, champagne-gold accents and new display type for headlines and numbers.
• Redesigned deals list, deal room, negotiations, LBO structuring, portfolio, company pages, exits, IPO, mergers, your firm and the market terminal.
• A new Economy panel: the cycle phase, a chart of market valuations, the base rate and inflation, and a news feed you can filter.
• A "Needs you" list in the activity feed: red flags, companies running out of cash, offers waiting and anything else that needs a decision.
• Smoother rendering, especially on long lists.
• Prefer it calm? Settings → Reduce motion.

Risk is real

• Lenders no longer cover losses forever. A company that runs out of cash gets 30 days to be rescued; after a default you have 45 days to bail it out or sell it before the lenders take it.
• The game pauses and flags it when one of your companies defaults.
• Banks size your leverage by what the company can service. Loss-making businesses get no debt.
• An overdrawn personal account sells your lifestyle assets at forced-sale prices; an overdrawn firm lets its analysts go.
• Failed companies show up in your track record.

Deals and exits that make sense

• Buyers' offers stay open for 30 days. A buyer waits two weeks for your answer on a closing issue, then walks.
• A sale closes at the price you accepted; earnouts are paid a year later — if they're earned.
• Buyers price your company on what it is today, so the work you put in shows up in the offer.
• IPOs: you sell shares at equity value, the share price follows the business, and you need real earnings to list.
• Mergers: the advisory fee is a few percent of the smaller company, paid from cash with any remainder financed — no more surprise holes in the treasury.
• Buying smaller competitors (add-ons) is now front and centre on the Strategy tab. A scouted target waits 60 days.

Money goes where it belongs

• Dividends, injections, withdrawals, sale and IPO proceeds always go to the company's owner: you, your firm, your fund or your employer.
• Personal dividends are taxed. Fund commitments, fees and carry follow the fund rules.
• Firm staff and services cost money. Net worth counts only what you actually own.

Quality of life

• Pressing a speed (1×/2×/3×) now also starts the clock.
• Company budgets have −/+ buttons that move them by 1% of revenue.
• Accepting the seller's price closes the negotiation window and moves the deal to due diligence.
• Career mode: the tutorial can be completed end to end, spin-outs work and the path to Partner is open.
• Saves are smaller, up to 20 manual slots, and the game tells you if a save fails. Older saves still load.
• The Mac version runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel.

Heads-up: the economy changed a lot, so a game started on an older version will play differently from here on. A new run is the best way to see the update.

Thanks for playing and for every report — keep them coming!