Mall Rivals news & patch notes

Hello Rivals!

It's been a while. We took the time to ship something bigger than a hotfix this time and there's a lot to unpack. This update is currently available on the unstable beta branch. After a few days of testing on Unstable, it'll roll out to the main build.

⚠️ We strongly recommend starting a fresh save. This is one of our biggest updates yet and old saves are very likely to behave unexpectedly since stores are now expandable. ⚠️

How do I join the Unstable beta branch?

Hello Rivals!

We've completely rebuilt our character system from the ground up. Your characters now look and feel entirely new compared to before.

Say hello to full character customization. Hair, beards, hats, outfits make your Mall Rival truly yours. This update is coming very soon.

Following this, we're shifting our focus to new in-game events that will significantly change how each session plays, along with a wave of fresh content planned for the near future.

More details will be shared soon.

Get ready. 🔥

Hello Rivals!

Quick hotfix while the coffee is still warm.

\ Loading a save mid-day no longer leaves the mall empty of customers for the rest of the day

\ Cashiers and stockers are no longer sometimes invisible to other players in multiplayer

\ Tablet stock counts now display the correct numbers for clients in multiplayer

\ New stores no longer flood with customers all at once \ Joining a game in progress no longer triggers a fake "Mall upgraded!" notification

\ Mall cops now reliably detect and pursue violations near floor boundaries (escalators, stairs)

\ Fines and bribes no longer reduce mall tier progress Thanks for sticking with us, your feedback and bug reports are what makes this game better every update. Found a bug? Let us know on our Discord

Hello Rivals! This is a major update — Build 0.3.0 is now live on the main build. 🏷️ 20% off for a limited time!

⚠️ We strongly recommend starting a fresh save for the best experience. Old saves may cause issues due to the large number of changes in this update.⚠️

Key Changes:

3 New stores — Butcher, Perfume, and Tobacco shop

3 Stores reworked — Fashion, Beauty, and Book stores have been completely revised

Board meetings completely reworked — New proposals, voting, and effects

Modding & Steam Workshop — Modding support is now active

Economy overhaul — Attractiveness, cleanliness, and product variety now directly affect your customer count and general economy balancing across all store types

Employee system improvements — Smarter and more reliable workers

Customer patience — Customers no longer wait forever at the register, they'll leave if they lose patience

New cash register types — Added new register variants, each with a different customer queue capacity

Major performance fix — Lag/FPS issues that worsened in later game days resolved

In-store billboards updated — Most AI art replaced with new hand-crafted visuals, more coming soon

Countless bug fixes and improvements (honestly too many to list, we lost count)

Thanks for sticking with us, your feedback and bug reports are what makes this game better every update. Found a bug? Let us know on our Discord

Hello Rivals!

This update is currently available on the unstable beta branch. After a few days of testing we'll push it to the main build.

How do I join the Unstable beta branch? Right-click Mall Rivals in your Steam library. Select "Properties". Under "Game Version & Betas" select "Unstable".

⚠️ We strongly recommend starting a fresh save for the best experience. Old saves may cause issues due to the large number of changes in this update.⚠️

Key Changes:

• 3 New stores — Butcher, Perfume, and Tobacco shop

• 3 Stores reworked — Fashion, Beauty, and Book stores have been completely revised

• Board meetings completely reworked — New proposals, voting, and effects

• Modding & Steam Workshop — Modding support is now active

• Economy overhaul — Attractiveness, cleanliness, and product variety now directly affect your customer count and general economy balancing across all store types

• Employee system improvements — Smarter and more reliable workers

• Customer patience — Customers no longer wait forever at the register, they'll leave if they lose patience

• New cash register types — Added new register variants, each with a different customer queue capacity

• Major performance fix — Lag/FPS issues that worsened in later game days resolved

• In-store billboards updated — Most AI art replaced with new hand-crafted visuals, more coming soon

  Countless bug fixes and improvements ( Honestly too many to list, we lost count )

Thanks for sticking with us, your feedback and bug reports are what makes this game better every update. Found a bug? Let us know on our Discord

Hello Rivals!

The unstable branch has been tested and is now rolling out to the main build. Thanks to everyone who helped us test! We're not slowing down, expect new content, regular updates, and hotfixes in the coming days.

Key Changes:

• Employee Management panel — View stats, assign roles, change stores, and fire employees directly from your tablet.

• Major lag/FPS fix — Fixed the performance issues that got worse in later game days.

• NPC movement improved — All NPCs now walk and navigate more smoothly.

• Save system improvements — Multiple save-related bugs resolved.

New Features \

• Employee Management panel in tablet — view stats, assign roles, change stores, and fire employees

User Interface \

• Main menu game mode card titles now fit within card borders

Performance \

• Fixed major lag/FPS issues that progressively worsened in later game days

• Improved NPC pathfinding and movement across the board

Bug Fixes \

• Selling a store now properly resets its floors, ceilings, and storefront to default

• Mall residents no longer wander into stores

• Stockers no longer duplicate crates or freeze near racks on upper floors

• Achievement progress now properly syncs in multiplayer

• Store monitors no longer need to be re-placed after loading a save

• Store wall decorations now display correctly when first placed on the wall

• Text no longer invisible when using Simplified Chinese

• Custom key bindings no longer reset when loading into a game

• Getting hit by a bat while in a menu no longer breaks player input

• Tablet and employee dialogue no longer show stale info from the previous game after loading a save from the pause menu

• Advertisement posters and banners now display their artwork correctly after loading a save

• ...and countless small fixes and improvements

Hello Rivals!

This update is available on the unstable beta branch. We'll push it to the main build after testing.

The major lag and FPS issues that got worse in later game days have been fixed, save system has been improved, NPC movement is smoother across the board, and store customization has arrived with Steam Workshop support on the way.

How do I join the Unstable beta branch? Right-click Mall Rivals in your Steam library. Select "Properties". Under "Game Version & Betas" select "Unstable".

Key Changes:

• Store customization — You can now customize your store's appearance. Steam Workshop support is coming soon so you'll be able to upload your own files, currently limited and in testing.

• Lag/FPS fix —Fixed the major performance issues that progressively worsened in later game days.

• Employee Management panel — View stats, assign roles, change stores, and fire employees directly from your tablet.

• Save system improvements — Multiple save-related bugs resolved.

New Features \

• Employee Management panel in tablet — view stats, assign roles, change stores, and fire employees

User Interface \

• Main menu game mode card titles now fit within card borders

Performance \

• Fixed major lag/FPS issues that progressively worsened in later game days

• Improved NPC pathfinding and movement across the board

Bug Fixes \

• Achievement progress now properly syncs in multiplayer

• Store monitors no longer need to be re-placed after loading a save

• Store wall decorations now display correctly when first placed on the wall

• Text no longer invisible when using Simplified Chinese

• Custom key bindings no longer reset when loading into a game

• Getting hit by a bat while in a menu no longer breaks player input

• Tablet and employee dialogue no longer show stale info from the previous game after loading a save from the pause menu

• Advertisement posters and banners now display their artwork correctly after loading a save

• ...and countless small fixes and improvements (honestly too many to list, we lost count)

Hello Rivals! Quick hotfix while the coffee is still warm. Here's what we fixed: \ Customers no longer get stuck at the register after exact cash payments \ Candy store pricing now scales correctly at tiers 3, 4, and 5 \ Mall tier progress now shows the correct target and scales properly for your team count \ You can no longer enter stores with a baseball bat or spray can, guards will block you \ Player names are now hidden when viewing the boardroom TV \ You can now open the tablet while sitting on a bench

Hey everyone,

We know losing your save files sucks and we completely understand the frustration. This is on us.

But here's the honest truth: the old save system had deep issues that would have caused much bigger problems down the line. On top of that, we're building the foundation for modding support, and the old system simply wasn't compatible with where we're heading. If we had waited to fix this later, the damage would have been worse. We made the tough call to do it now so you never have to deal with this again going forward.

This is exactly why the game is in early access, to catch these things early and fix them before they become permanent problems.

Since launch two weeks ago we've pushed a ton of updates, added new content, and fixed hundreds of bugs. We plan to keep that pace going, moving fast on fixes and adding new content as quickly as we can.

Thank you for not giving up on us during this process. Your Discord messages, in-game tickets, and feedback are genuinely shaping this game. The florist store, the baseball bat, store selling, these all came from you.

Bigger content updates are coming, and this reset was laying the groundwork for those. We needed a solid foundation before building on top of it.

We're sorry for the lost progress and the time you put in. We know it's not just a save file, it's your effort. We don't take that lightly.

Hello Rivals!

We've been testing this update on the unstable branch and it's now rolling out to the main build. Thank you to everyone who helped us test!

The save system has changed with this update so your existing save files might break. We're really sorry about this but we had to do it now to prevent bigger issues down the road.

We read everything you write on Discord. The florist store was added because of your feedback, and your suggestions helped us decide on some of the new mechanics too. Keep it coming, it really shapes the game.

Key Changes:

• New store type: Florist — A brand new tier 1 store is here!

• Baseball bat — Defend yourself against thieves. This is just the beginning.

• Store selling & closing — You can now close or sell your stores from the tablet for 50% of total value.

• Host tools — Hosts can now reset and sell stores left behind by trolls or disconnected players.

• Upper floor entrances — Customers now enter the mall from upper floors depending on their target store.

• Store Monitor — A wall-mounted TV for your store. Watch mall news and vote for day start/end without walking to the kiosk.

• Accessibility metric removed — Stores are now scored on 4 metrics instead of 5.

New Features \

• New store type: Florist

• Baseball bat mechanic for players who want to defend themselves against thieves

• Store Management panel in tablet — close or sell your stores

• Sell your store for 50% of its total value including products, furniture, and the store itself

• Hosts can close and sell stores left behind by disconnected players

• Hosts can now unban players from the Player Management panel

• Upper floor entrances added to the mall. Allows better access for employees and customers

• Customers will enter the mall from upper floors depending on their target store

• Store Monitor — a wall-mounted TV you can place in any store that shows mall news and lets you vote for day start/end without walking to the kiosk

• Supply cabinet lets your team store and retrieve tools like spray cans

• Customers now visit vending machines and food stands during their shopping trip instead of walking past them

• Customers now queue at busy vending machines instead of skipping them

• Corridor box limit — orders are blocked when a store has too many boxes sitting in the corridor

• Round all prices to the nearest dollar with one click in the bulk pricing tool

User Interface \

• Tier panel now pulses with a red outline when you have enough earnings but need more store types to advance

Adjustments \

• Store glass is now clearer, making it easier to see products inside

• Reduced employee hiring costs across all mall tiers

• Removed Accessibility store metric — stores are now scored on 4 metrics instead of 5

Bug Fixes \

• Kiosk panel now shows the correct player name when loading a saved game

• Protector guards now chase to block your path when you rush them instead of just strafing

• Multiple protector guards at the same store now split the storefront into zones instead of covering the same area

• Pause menu can no longer be opened during mall cop interactions

• Books and CDs no longer land upside down on cash registers

• Product labels on shelves no longer show the wrong item after walking away and returning

• Mall progression speed no longer stays penalized after the host resets a kicked player's stores

• Loans taken in the morning are no longer charged a payment before the mall even opens

• Board meeting effects now last for their full duration

• Items stored in the supply cabinet no longer disappear after saving and loading

• Vendor stock counts and sold-out status now display correctly for all players in multiplayer

• Store monitor vote buttons now work correctly after the first voting phase

Hello Rivals!

This update is currently only available on the unstable beta branch, not the main build. There might be some bugs, we're actively testing and fixing as we go.

The save system has changed with this update so your existing save files might break. We're really sorry about this but we had to do it now to prevent bigger issues down the road.

We read everything you write on Discord. The florist store was added because of your feedback, and your suggestions helped us decide on some of the new mechanics too. Keep it coming, it really shapes the game.

How do I subscribe to the Unstable beta branch?

Key Changes:

• New store type: Florist — A brand new tier 1 store is here!

• Baseball bat — Defend yourself against thieves. This is just the beginning.

• Store selling & closing — You can now close or sell your stores from the tablet for 50% of total value.

• Host tools — Hosts can now reset and sell stores left behind by trolls or disconnected players.

• Upper floor entrances — Customers now enter the mall from upper floors depending on their target store.

• Store Monitor — A wall-mounted TV for your store. Watch mall news and vote for day start/end without walking to the kiosk.

• Save system changed — Your save files might break. We're really sorry but we had to do this now to prevent bigger issues down the road.

New Features \

• New store type: Florist

• Baseball bat mechanic for players who want to defend themselves against thieves

• Store Management panel in tablet — close or sell your stores

• Sell your store for 50% of its total value including products, furniture, and the store itself

• Hosts can close and sell stores left behind by disconnected players

• Hosts can now unban players from the Player Management panel

• Upper floor entrances added to the mall. Allows better access for employees and customers

• Customers will enter the mall from upper floors depending on their target store

• Store Monitor — a wall-mounted TV you can place in any store that shows mall news and lets you vote for day start/end without walking to the kiosk

• Supply cabinet lets your team store and retrieve tools like spray cans

• Customers now visit vending machines and food stands during their shopping trip instead of walking past them

• Round all prices to the nearest dollar with one click in the bulk pricing tool

User Interface \

• Tier panel now pulses with a red outline when you have enough earnings but need more store types to advance

Adjustments \

• Store glass is now clearer, making it easier to see products inside

• Reduced employee hiring costs across all mall tiers

Bug Fixes \

• Kiosk panel now shows the correct player name when loading a saved game

• Protector guards now chase to block your path when you rush them instead of just strafing

• Pause menu can no longer be opened during mall cop interactions

• Books and CDs no longer land upside down on cash registers

• Product labels on shelves no longer show the wrong item after walking away and returning

• Mall progression speed no longer stays penalized after the host resets a kicked player's stores

• Loans taken in the morning are no longer charged a payment before the mall even opens

• Board meeting effects now last for their full duration

Hello Rivals! Hey everyone, we're aware of the current issues and we see your Discord messages and tickets. Instead of slapping band-aid fixes we're working on proper permanent solutions, which takes a bit more time. Thanks for your patience.

\ Stations are not working properly right now reworking the algorithm and tier balancing, fix coming asap

\ Working on customers entering the mall from floors 2-3

\ The shelf crashing the game in the beauty store has been temporarily removed

\ Cash registers reverted back to their previous state

\ Tech store drone product fixed

Hello Rivals!

Key Changes:

• Thievery is here — Boxes in corridors are no longer a violation. Steal your rivals' goods! Toggle thievery and police on/off in lobby settings.

• Bulk Pricing Tools — Set all prices to market value or adjust by percentage in one click.

• Register queues capped at 3 — No more endless customer lines blocking your store.

• Lobby Presets — Jump into action faster with preset configurations, though we still highly recommend customizing the settings to suit your playstyle.

• Floor arrows — Never get lost on the way to the boardroom again.

• Shelves glow when restocking — Matching shelves light up when you carry a box.

• Session sharing — Session code and host IP now visible in Player Management for easy invites.

New Features \

• Shelves with matching products now glow when carrying a box, making restocking easier

• Bulk Pricing Tools: Set all to market price or adjust by percentage in one click

• Product sorting and search in the price management panel

• On-screen notifications for purchases, sales, fines, loan issues, and board meeting results

• Floor arrows now guide you to the boardroom during board meetings

• Tutorial steps show floor arrows pointing the way to your next objective

• Lobby Presets: Select presets when creating a lobby to quickly jump into the action

• Hosts can now toggle session visibility (Public/Private) from the Player Management panel during gameplay

• Session code and host IP are shown in the Player Management panel for easy sharing with friends

• Storage rooms now have door frames around their entrances

User Interface \

• Redesigned top HUD: Day, time, and balance are now in one clean panel. Mall tier progress now shows individual requirements with clear progress tracking

• Prices now show a warning when set above what customers will pay

• Clearing a shelf label now shows the product or furniture name in the hint so you know what you're removing

Adjustments \

• Boxes left in corridors are no longer a violation (let the thievery begin!)

• Customers now prefer less crowded stores when choosing where to shop first

• Cash register queues are now limited to 3 customers

Bug Fixes \

• Storage room doors no longer visually shrink or stretch when opening and closing

• Furniture placement now requires more clearance around worker positions, preventing tight placements where employees can't fit

• Customer queues at cash registers no longer extend outside the store when the register is placed near the entrance

• Mall tier now properly upgrades from Premium to Luxury

• You won't be able to move out of the mall because of collider issues anymore

• Stockers no longer ignore racks with labels

• Currency amounts no longer display with wrong separators on some systems

• ShameTV now shows proper station names instead of code names

• Products from other store types can no longer be stocked on shelves or appear in the price management panel

• Vending machines no longer become permanently unusable after a day ends

• Vending machines no longer sell products with unknown prices

• Shopping bags and reaction bubbles no longer float in mid-air when their customer is too far away to be visible

• Player names no longer overlap with characters during board meetings

• Resolution settings are now saved and loaded properly

• Loaner dialogues fixed

• Employee hire button is now disabled when you can't afford the hiring fee

Performance \

• Entrance doors now properly respond to LOD quality settings

Hello Rivals!

We've opened a new beta branch to test upcoming features early! If you'd like to participate and help us test new updates, hop into our Discord server and let us know.

As always it is recommended that you create a new save after updates. Updates fix bugs and introduce new changes that may not be compatible with any older saves, especially ones older than the last patch.

How do I subscribe to the Unstable beta branch?

Right-click Mall Rivals in your Steam library. Select "Properties". Under "Game Version & Betas" select "Unstable".

With this update, we've started rolling out the highly anticipated thievery features. You will no longer be penalized for leaving boxes in the corridors which means you can now steal your friends' goods! Of course, police and bodyguards are a great way to prevent this. Through the lobby settings, you can now toggle thievery and police presence on or off, and even adjust police behavior to be more lenient or strict.

Additionally, we've added floor arrows to easily guide you to the boardroom. You can also select presets when setting up a lobby now, though we still highly recommend customizing the lobby settings to suit your personal playstyle.

Here are all the new features, tweaks, and fixes coming with this patch:

New Features \

• Bulk Pricing Tools: Set all to market price or adjust by percentage in one click.

• Product Management: Added product sorting and search features in the price management panel.

• On-Screen Notifications: Added pop-ups for purchases, sales, fines, loan issues, and board meeting results.

• Boardroom Directions: Floor arrows now guide you to the boardroom during board meetings.

• Tutorial Guides: Tutorial steps now show floor arrows pointing the way to your next objective.

• Lobby Presets: You can now select presets when creating a lobby to quickly jump into the action.

User Interface \

• Redesigned Top HUD: Day, time, and balance are now in one clean panel. Mall tier progress now shows individual requirements with clear progress tracking.

• Price Warnings: Prices now show a warning when set above what customers are willing to pay.

Adjustments \

• Corridor Boxes: Boxes left in corridors are no longer a rule violation (let the thievery begin!).

• Customer Preferences: Customers now prefer less crowded stores when choosing where to shop first.

Bug Fixes \

• Mall Tier Progression: Mall tier now properly upgrades from Premium to Luxury.

• Out of Bounds: You won't be able to move out of the mall because of collider issues anymore.

• Stocker AI: Stockers no longer ignore racks with labels.

• Currency Formatting: Currency amounts no longer display with the wrong separators on some systems.

• ShameTV Naming: ShameTV now shows proper station names instead of code names (e.g., "Beverage Vending Machine" instead of "BeverageVendingMachine").

• Product Placement: Products from other store types can no longer be stocked on shelves or appear in the price management panel.

• Vending Machine Lockouts: Vending machines no longer become permanently unusable after a day ends.

• Vending Machine Prices: Vending machines no longer sell products with unknown prices.

• UI Overlap: Player names no longer overlap with characters during board meetings.

• Settings: Resolution settings are now saved and loaded properly.

• NPC Dialogues: Fixed various loaner dialogues.

• Hiring Button: The employee hire button is now properly disabled when you cannot afford the hiring fee.

🚀 Performance \

• Door Optimization: Entrance doors now properly respond to LOD (Level of Detail) quality settings.

Hello Rivals!

Here's what's new in today's first hotfix:

Work In Progress

• Resolution settings

• Loaner dialogues

New Features

• Lock Teams setting — hosts can prevent team changes during the game, visible when browsing sessions

• Shelves and furniture can now be snapped at any angle in the center of your store, not just against walls

• Dropping spray cans, cleaners, and trash bags now shows a placement preview like product boxes

• Cash register keypad now works with gamepad — use D-pad to navigate buttons and A to press them

• Players joining a game with a different version now see a clear notification explaining the mismatch

Bug Fixes

• Loans can no longer spiral into unpayable debt — balance is now capped, partial payments supported, and late fees no longer drain your wallet

• Fixed multiple chat issues — typing, team chat, scrolling, and WASD interference

• Mouse sensitivity at the cash register now matches normal gameplay

• Can no longer man the cash register while carrying a box

• Emergency unstuck can no longer be used to escape jail early — you must serve your full sentence

• Boxes sometimes invisible to certain players while visible to others

• Storage rack items now properly count toward total stock for all players, not just the host

• Profile deletion and renaming now work correctly across restarts

• Players who disconnect and rejoin now properly return to their original team and store

• Advertisements no longer overlap with vending machines

Hello Rivals!

We wanted to thank you with %30 discount, because of all your invaluable contributions throughout demo. We wish to grow this bond further more and improve this game in early access.

Let’s stay connected and keep enjoying the game together. 

Creedon Team.

Join our community and interact with us here: \ 

Hello Rivals!

The wait is almost over. Mall Rivals officially launches on Steam. We are incredibly excited to welcome you all to the mall!

Launch Times:

7:33 PM (PDT)

As part of our Early Access launch, we have already implemented several fixes and improvements to ensure your gameplay experience is as smooth and engaging as possible from the very first minute. We are committed to monitoring your feedback closely and will continue working to resolve any issues quickly as we move forward together.

News / Improvements / Fixes:

New Content: 5 new shop types have been added to diversify your gameplay.

Social Systems: A new Meeting Room system is now available for player meetings and voting.

Security: You can now hire bodyguards to protect your store.

Sabotage: Explore new ways to disrupt your rivals, including spray tools and cleaning equipment to remove markings.

AI Enhancements: Improved AI logic for shopping mall police.

Economy & Progression: Significant enhancements to the in-game economy, store licenses, and mall tier systems.

Technical Polish: General bug fixes and algorithmic optimizations for better performance.

We sincerely thank you for all the support, ideas, and feedback you’ve shared so far your contributions have been invaluable. Let’s stay connected and build this empire together.

Join our community and interact with us here:  \ 

Hello everyone! We've been patching daily in Early Access, and we've compiled all the latest additions, fixes, and improvements from our recent updates into one massive list.

Here is everything new in the game:

✨ NEW FEATURES & ADDITIONS

• Camera Tracking: Carried objects now follow the camera when looking up/down, keeping items out of your field of view.

• View Distance Setting: Added a "View Distance" setting in graphics options to control how far away objects stay detailed, independent of your overall quality preset.

• Store Accessibility: Store accessibility is now properly calculated based on distance from the entrance, floor level, and nearby landmarks.

• Head Bob Toggle: Added a "Head Bob" toggle in display settings for players sensitive to camera motion.

• Intuitive Furniture Snapping: Furniture snap now prioritizes nearby furniture over walls for much more intuitive placement.

• Stocker AI Improvements: Stockers now spread out to unique positions in storage areas instead of clustering together.

🛠️ BUG FIXES

• Multiplayer & Connection:

  • Pause menu no longer freezes the game for other players in multiplayer.

  • Fixed connection issues when rejoining a game before the old session fully disconnected.

• Employees & NPCs:

  • Stockers can now successfully reach boxes stored on racks instead of getting stuck walking into the shelf.

  • Employees no longer get stuck trying to restock unreachable boxes.

  • NPCs no longer walk through placed furniture.

  • Fixed a rare issue where hiring could result in duplicate or missing employees.

• Gameplay & Interactions:

  • Loading a save no longer spawns a flood of extra customers on top of the ones already in the mall.

  • Checkout queue lines now form a path toward the store entrance instead of extending into the register.

  • Box stock count now updates correctly when placing products on shelves.

  • Players can no longer escape through revolving doors by crouching.

  • Jail countdown timer now shows correctly after loading a save, and jailed players are properly released when their sentence ends.

  • The Fashion Starter license is no longer missing a product.

• Settings & Menus:

  • Graphics settings now save properly when changed in the pause menu.

  • Audio volume, Theme, UI scale, and text size changes are no longer lost when clicking "Back" instead of "Apply".

⚙️ UI, PERFORMANCE & TUNING

• \ Mall Tier Progression: Progression now scales with team count — solo play requires more revenue, while multiplayer is proportionally easier.

• \ Throwing Mechanics: Throwing now shows an aiming reticle, an animated flick instruction, and an object weight indicator.

• \ Better Out-of-the-Box FPS: V-Sync is now disabled by default for a smoother initial experience.

Thank you all for the bug reports and feedback. Keep them coming!

🆕 New Features

• Snap mode (hold Alt) for furniture placement auto-snaps to nearest wall or furniture, instant rotation alignment, and configurable snap angle in Settings

• Thrown boxes and trash bags now leave colored particle trails through the air

• Racks now show product labels with icon and stock count, and labels persist after removing boxes

• You can now gather nearby trash by pressing E while carrying a trash bag

• Board meetings now use interactive voting papers draw with pen, erase mistakes, and stamp your vote

• Board meeting proposals now have costs and support multiple sequential votes with active policy tracking

• Board TV shows player list with team colors, active policies, and agenda during meetings

• Board room furnished with couch, floor lamp, side drawer, wall clock, and water cooler

• License system expanded Sports, Tech, Fashion, Beauty, and Book stores now have multiple license tiers (Basic/Standard/Premium/Luxury) with variant choices

• Sports stores stocked with new products (baseball gear, shoes, rackets, small balls) and display furniture (ball stands, shoe displays, boxing stand, dumbbell stand)

• Customers now prefer products matching the mall's tier budget malls attract economy shoppers, luxury malls attract premium buyers

🎮 UI Improvements

• Price tag editor redesigned cleaner layout, hold-to-repeat buttons, and scroll wheel support

• Price tag cents now display smaller, fitting neatly within the tag

• Board meeting voting UI panel shows proposal details, voting options with hotkeys, and countdown timer

• Disconnected players now show a visible mark in the kiosk voting screen instead of silently disappearing

• License panel redesigned grid/list view toggle, tier filter with color-coded badges, and price sorting

• Mall tier badges now color-coded (Budget=Gray, Basic=Green, Standard=Blue, Premium=Purple, Luxury=Gold)

• Ad slot owned view cleaned up removed redundant campaign display, fixed layout alignment

• Station buy panel now properly translates all labels

• Statistics tab day navigation verified period switching, day badges, and store metrics all display correctly

• Tablet home screen polished larger app icons, cleaner header bar with status containers

🛠️ Bug Fixes

• Players can no longer fall through the floor when ragdolled

• License panel no longer shows stale owned licenses when starting a new game

• Players no longer appear multiple times in the kiosk voting screen

• Small ShameTV now mounts properly on walls

• Graffiti cleaner spray direction and brush falloff fixed

• Ad slot time remaining no longer shows garbled text like "3d Daysh remaining"

• You can now place a different product box on an empty rack shelf without clearing the label first

Hey everyone, we see you out there and we love the energy! Quick heads up:

A new demo patch is dropping very soon with a bunch of bug fixes and improvements. We've been reading all your reports and feedback, and this update reflects that.

Early access is right around the corner, and we're packing it with new content, mechanics, and things you definitely won't expect. New stores, new products, a revamped economy system, and some features you haven't seen in games like this before. We can't wait to show you what we've been working on.

Huge thanks to everyone on our Discord sharing ideas, reporting bugs, and helping shape the game. You guys are a massive part of this. If you haven't joined yet: Discord

New Features

• Customers spread out along storefronts when evaluating instead of crowding one spot

UI Improvements

• Cash register now highlights scannable items with clean outlines

• Shopping cart now shows discounted prices when discounts are active

Bug Fixes

• Cash register belt and payment displays should sync better in multiplayer (rewrote half the system, fingers crossed!)

• Singleplayer no longer fails to start due to port conflicts

• Box picking, dropping, and rack placement now works reliably in multiplayer

• Escalators now reliably push players — no more getting stuck mid-ride

• Carried boxes are now dropped when sent to jail

• Starter licenses now properly appear on old save files after game updates

• Utility room walls no longer have gaps at corners

• Store purchase price now correctly matches the category price shown in the UI

• Main menu cards now properly reflect their state on load

Performance

• Reduced customer network traffic for smoother multiplayer performance

• Mall generates faster and renders with fewer draw calls (skylights, columns, jail bars, walls)

Hey everyone, here's today's patch. Thanks for all the bug reports, keep them coming! 🙏

Tuning

• Low-skill employees are now noticeably slower at cash register and stocking tasks

UI Improvements

• Mouse cursor is no longer trapped in the game window while the pause menu is open

Bug Fixes

• Mouse cursor no longer escapes the game window after alt-tabbing back during gameplay

• Store names no longer reset to defaults for other players after loading a save

• Product prices no longer disappear for other players after loading a save

• Teams 5-8 no longer all wear red — each team now has its own distinct color

• Team colors in lobby now match the actual clothing colors in gameplay

• Stockers no longer restock display spots after clearing their product label

• Non-beauty stores can now order additional cash registers from the furniture catalog

• Team name changes now properly show on screens

• Customer count on the day kiosk now updates as shoppers come and go

• Reassigned sprint key now works correctly after rebinding in settings

• Employees no longer freeze up when a rack is removed while they're restocking it

• Wrong change can now be taken back by clicking the money on the counter

• Players no longer get stuck on mall floor edges, but still can :D hopefully this fixed it

• ...and many more unlisted fixes and improvements

We recommend starting a new save for the smoothest experience, but existing saves should generally work fine.

Mall Rivals Demo Patch Notes — February 25, 2026

Hey everyone, here's today's patch. Thanks for all the bug reports, keep them coming! 🙏

New Features

• In-game chat — press Enter to type, Tab to switch between All and Team

• Furniture placement now prevents placing items where customers or employees can't reach

• Product boxes now show item count on all sides

• Customers now pause at your store to show why they're not buying before walking away

• Customer feedback tour: after shopping, customers visit competitor stores and react to them

• Stores track which products get rejected the most and why

• ShameTV event slide now shows up to 3 active events side-by-side

UI Improvements

• Placement preview shows colored dots where NPCs need to stand (green = clear, red = blocked)

• Placement mode now shows a hint bar explaining where restricted items can be placed

• Team messages have a green highlight so you can tell them apart

• Feedback form now shows a toast notification confirming your message was sent

• Solo players now see a clean "Visit the Kiosk" prompt instead of the multiplayer vote panel

• Translations updated across 14 languages

Bug Fixes

• Player no longer walks around while using the tablet

• Players can no longer walk through store glass from the inside

• Settings panel no longer leaves the game frozen when closed with ESC

• Customers no longer try to check out at a destroyed register after loading a save

• Clicking ad slots and stations no longer locks you into a store opening loop

• Mall cops no longer dogpile — if you're already caught, other cops leave you alone

• Same customer visiting your store twice no longer counts as two missed sales

Tuning

• Employee candidate pool now scales with team count (+2 per active team)

Still here, still patching, still haven't slept. Here's the latest. 🛠️

New Features

• Nearby NPCs turn to watch when someone gets chased by a mall cop

• Cash registers auto-generate queue lines so customers line up properly

• Different customer tiers walk with unique styles

• ShameTV captures real store photos for news segments

UI Improvements

• Tablet cart has +/- buttons to adjust furniture order quantities

• "Insufficient funds" warning shows when you can't afford a product order

Bug Fixes

• Employees no longer get stuck trying to reach blocked cash registers

• Camera height transitions smoothly when crouching near objects

A quick note first 💬

Hey everyone,

First of all, the growing player count makes us incredibly happy. But with such rapid growth, bugs are popping up just as fast, and we're doing our best to keep up.

We have a single developer on the team, and they've been fixing bugs nonstop all day long. We're aware of the issues with police and shelves. Rather than slapping on temporary fixes, we prefer to build proper, lasting solutions. So we ask for a little more patience.

Patches will keep rolling out throughout the day, morning, noon, and night. Thank you so much for sticking with us, reporting bugs, and being patient. 🙏

New Features

• Customer feedback tour: After shopping, customers visit competitor stores and show why they didn't shop at yours

• Reaction bubble system: New reaction bubbles using pooled emoji sprites instead of text-only bubbles

• 30+ customer behavior reaction emojis: Thinking, excited, frustrated, and more

• ShameTV event slide: Now displays up to 3 active events side-by-side with responsive card sizing

• HUD voting overlay: Shows player ready states during day start/end votes

• Instant team name sync: Team name changes sync instantly to the tablet header via network events

• Rival feedback notification: New notification type for competitor store feedback analytics

• Per-product price rejection tracking: View the top 3 most rejected products per store

Improvements

• Maximum team count increased to 8

• Lobby UI/UX improvements

• Toast notifications now dynamically align below the HUD header

Keep reporting bugs, every report makes the game better. ❤️

Mall Rivals is part of Steam Next Fest!

Compete against real players in the same mall. The demo is free.

What's inside the demo:

- 5 store categories

- 1-8 player real-time multiplayer

- 2-floor mall with Co-op, Team vs Team, and FFA

- Hire Cashiers and Stockers

- Mall Security on patrol. Break the rules, risk getting caught

- Live Mall TV. Get caught, everyone sees it

Whether you play fair or choose a darker path, this demo gives you the experience of running a store in a competitive mall.

Play the free demo now and let us know what you think!

Wishlist and follow the game to stay updated on new mechanics, modes, and content.