Does Probably Stolen have an ending?
Yes. Buying the shop ends the run with the Buyout ending, the only win; every other ending is a way to lose.
Probably Stolen Endings
Yes, Probably Stolen has endings, and only one of them is a win: buying the shop. Every other Probably Stolen ending is a way to lose the run, from being evicted for unpaid rent to an Aug takeover of the station. The developers said on October 21, 2026 that purchasing the store is the game's ending in the full release, and that it now ends with a stats screen of your run.
Probably Stolen endings: the short answer
For what the game is and every guide we publish, start at the Probably Stolen guide hub.
- How to win: buy the shop, outright or by paying off the loan shark's mortgage.
- How runs are lost: unpaid rent, arrest or execution, angering a faction until it comes for you, skipping your medicine with Sentinel Collapse Disorder, or letting the Augs take over.
- How long it takes: there is no day limit; the run lasts until you buy the shop or lose.
Every Probably Stolen ending
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Buyout | The win: "You sign the deed, and with it, the weight of the rent vanishes, alongside the shadow of the Landlord." Source: Ending screen text. |
| You Defaulted On Your Rent | "As a result of failing to pay your rent, you were evicted." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Arrested | "For crimes against the station, the Security arrested you." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Executed | "For capital crimes against the station, the Security arrested and executed you." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Repossession | The loan shark takes the store after a mortgage goes unpaid. Source: Ending screen text. |
| Lynched | "After one too many offences against the Lower Levels, a mob of angry customers stormed your store." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Framed | "Arrested by the Security on some trumped up charges, you were thrown in the brig." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Assassinated | "After one too many offences against the Upper Levels, a hitman was contracted by the elites of the station to take you out for good." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Sentinel Collapse | "After skipping one too many Immunivax injectors, your faulty immune system turned on your own body." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Bombed | "After being declared as an enemy of the Revolution, a bomb was planted in your store." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Retired | "The Cartel decided that you were no longer worth keeping around." Source: Ending screen text. |
| No Permit | "You weren't able to secure a vendor permit and were forced to close your store." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Augmented | "The Aug population reached a critical point and now operates openly." Source: Ending screen text. |
| Meltdown | "The makeshift reactor finally gave out due to a criminal level of neglect." The Makeshift Reactor starting perk reads: "Start with an upgradable Makeshift Micro Nuclear Reactor sold to you by Dr. Jackson. It powers the Store but needs regular repairs." Source: Ending screen text; perk text. |
| An ending tied to Lou | "Lou told you not to touch her toys. She left another little present on your counter, and this one was real." Source: Ending text. |
| An ending tied to Lou | "You couldn't pay what you owed Lou, so she settled the score her own way: a little present on your counter, and this one was real." Source: Ending text. |
The full game's files have 16 ending texts: the demo's 13 plus Meltdown and two endings tied to Lou.
Each row gives the ending's name and what its ending screen says brought it about.
How to win: the Buyout ending
Buying the shop is the only ending the game writes as a victory. There are two ways to reach it, and each has its own ending screen. Buy the store outright and you read: "The shop is yours, free and clear, a hard-earned victory in a world that's never been kind." Pay off a mortgage from the loan shark and you read: "You sign the final papers, and with it, the last chains that bound you to the loan shark are broken. The store is truly yours now, free from the threat of repossession."
In the full release, the ending comes with a stats screen, the developers said on October 21, 2026: your most profitable sale, the days you survived, your total worth, your perks and more numbers to compare with your friends. Losing runs get one too. After the ending screen you can keep playing the same run. How to get there, and the loan shark's mortgage, are in our guide to buying the shop.
How each losing ending happens, and how to avoid it
Every losing ending names its own cause on the ending screen. The game does not show how close you are to any of them, so the advice below stops where the game's own words stop.
You Defaulted On Your Rent. You failed to pay the rent and were evicted. The landlord forgives one missed payment ("For this time and this time ONLY"); after that, missing rent ends the run, so keep enough Credits back for rent day.
Arrested and Executed. Both are Security's response to "crimes against the station", with execution reserved for "capital crimes". Keep your suspected crime level down and the evidence against you out of Security's hands.
Repossession. This one only follows a mortgage: if you stop paying the loan shark and have nothing left he wants, he takes the store.
Lynched, Assassinated and Bombed. Each is a faction turning on you after "one too many offences": a Lower Levels mob, a hitman paid by the Upper Levels, or the Revolution declaring you an enemy. Watch your reputation with the Lower Levels, the Upper Levels and the Revolution; the reputation perks each faction gives at high and low standing are in our perks table.
Sentinel Collapse. This ending belongs to the Sentinel Collapse Disorder starting perk, which means you need an Immunivax injection every week. Skip "one too many" and the run ends. The developers' own advice on October 21, 2026: "do not play with Sentinel Collapse Disorder on your first run." How to tell a real Immunivax from a fake is in our Immunivax appraisal guide.
Augmented. The Aug population grows until it "operates openly", and a group of Augs implants a chip in you during the night. Our guide to the Augmented ending covers how to keep the Aug threat down.
Framed, Retired and No Permit. Their screens say Security framed you on "trumped up charges", the Cartel "decided that you were no longer worth keeping around", or you "weren't able to secure a vendor permit". They do not say what leads there, so we do not guess.
How long is Probably Stolen?
A run lasts until you buy the shop or lose it; there is no day limit. The developers have not given a play time. The one complete run they have shown, on the stats screen in their October 21, 2026 preview, is an Aquafarmer buyout on the easiest difficulty that took 154 in-game days and 6 hours 25 minutes of play. That is one run, on the easiest setting, in a build from before release; harder difficulties, other starts and the way you play all change it.
Hard Mode, Endless Mode and difficulty
The demo had a Hard Mode switch and an Endless Mode switch on its new-game screen. In the full release, the developers said on October 21, 2026, you choose between four difficulty options after picking your starting scenario, and Endless Mode is still a separate tick box in their preview. The four are Price Gouge (Cozy Mode), Mark Up (Normal Mode), Thin Margins (Hard Mode) and Red Ink (Challenge Mode).
Before the Playtest, in October 2025, the lead developer described it as "just like normal but all scripted event and character are removed". Whether the full release still removes the same things will show once players have tried it.
Rock Bottom is a starting scenario, not a difficulty: you start with nothing but the store. Players often stack it with Hard Mode; how Rock Bottom differs from Hard Mode is in our Rock Bottom guide.
Endings in the demo
In the free demo, there was no winning ending. Its landlord only offered to collect rent, so the shop could not be bought outright, and the demo's code never sent the loan shark, so the mortgage route never started. A demo run ended in one of the losing endings or simply kept going: players report being evicted, arrested or executed, killed after a faction turned against them, Sentinel Collapse and Aug takeovers. More on the demo's limits is in our guide to whether the demo ends.
Version notes and what changes in the full release
The ending names and screen texts on this page were checked against the full game's files on October 28, 2026. The full game's files have 16 ending texts: the demo's 13 plus Meltdown and two endings tied to Lou.
More is planned. In October 2025, before the Playtest, the lead developer said the game had "no main storyline, for now". The developers' October 21, 2026 overview lists a main storyline expansion among the updates planned after launch, one "which will affect the station and the ending", along with finished storylines for several characters at launch. A patch that adds or changes an ending triggers a recheck of this page.
Probably Stolen endings FAQ
How do you win Probably Stolen?
Buy the shop, either outright or by paying off the loan shark's mortgage. The run then ends with the Buyout ending and a stats screen.
How many endings are there?
The full game's files have 16 ending texts: the demo's 13 plus Meltdown and two endings tied to Lou. One is the win; the rest are losses.
How long is Probably Stolen?
There is no day limit and the developers have not given a play time. The one complete run in their preview took 154 in-game days and about 6 and a half hours on the easiest difficulty.
What does Endless Mode do?
It lets a run go on as normal play; before the Playtest the lead developer described it as normal play with the scripted events and characters removed.
Can you win the demo?
No. The demo cannot reach the Buyout ending, so a demo run either keeps going or ends in a loss.
Will Probably Stolen get a story ending?
A main storyline expansion that will affect the ending is planned after launch, the developers said on October 21, 2026.
Sources and version history for this guide: Probably Stolen sources and versions.
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