
Steam news
Full Steam announcements and update articles for this title.
If you missed our latest content update earlier this week, we've added new player levels, decorations, and more. Be sure to check out our previous Steam News post for the full details on everything that's been added.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/3552140/view/717907667832537583
As always, keep and eye on our Discord for teasers and more info on upcoming updates!
We know many of our players love collecting those shiny holographic tapes. A lot of you also enjoy building collections on the Steam Community Market. We’re a little late to the party, but we’ve finally added Steam Trading Cards! Head over to the Steam Market and check them out if collecting is your thing.
Thanks for all the support and happy Summer Sale to all!
-The Retro Rewind Team
It’s been a little over a month since our last update, and we’re back with more exciting post-launch content! Our current goal is to focus on rolling out individual features and various content as we work toward the major video game update coming in a few months.
Let’s dive in today's patch notes!
Starting today, your video stores can now rent out VHS players!
Once you reach the required player level, you'll be able to unlock the System Rental Shelf located in the backstore. Order VHS players from the Catalogue, place them on the shelf and customers will ask to rent them out at the help desk. When a VHS player is returned, be sure to test it at the Testing Station. Like your movies, not all customers will handle your equipment with care and no one wants to rent out a broken machine! Oh, and no... you can’t rent out VCR machines. We wouldn’t want customers recording the tapes they rent, now would we?
Psssst! Just letting you know... the System Rental feature will also support gaming console rentals in the future, once the Video Game update arrives! Stay tuned!
With this new patch, we’ve expanded the Store Level Unlock board in the office!
We’ve added four new player levels, each packed with exciting unlocks: the System Rental feature, a toy shelf for selling awesome 90s collectibles, a packaged concession shelf and a retro pinball machine to go along with your arcade collection. We’re also planning to continue expanding the level system with future content updates, bringing even more unlocks as the game evolves.
We've also added more decorations! The new additions include ceiling fans, large rugs and an awesome new arcade machine!
It wouldn’t be a Retro Rewind content update without new movie releases!
Four new films have been added to the game. Can you guess what they are???
As always, we love seeing how our players organize and decorate their shops. The attention to detail is truly impressive!
What better way to finish this Steam news letter with a small compilation of some of the best images and mods we’ve seen recently. Enjoy!
Mil1tia
Vossi
Oathkeeper
Reaper013
Lucy
KiwiTomo Rylie
ManLikeBeas
While we encourage players to create mods, we unfortunately can’t provide direct support for them. That said, new updates may occasionally cause issues or crashes when mods are installed. If you encounter any issues, such as a Fatal Crash error, you can switch to the RepairStationBuild branch. This is a special version of the game that does not receive updates and allows you to continue playing on version 2198.
Here are a few images from the modding community showcasing some assets and artwork not included in the original game. It’s always cool to see how engaged the Retro Rewind players are!
Hi there, video store owners!
We hope business is booming and your customers aren’t giving you too much trouble with those nasty late and damage fees. Today, we’re excited to bring you the first official post-launch content update for Retro Rewind! As always, our Discord is open to everyone who wants to share feedback, suggest new ideas, or simply chat about the game and their love of movies!
Many of you have been eager to finally do something about those piles of broken VHS tapes. Some of your backstores have practically turned into graveyards for damaged tapes... but the wait is over! You can now use the Repair Desk located in the storage area to fix broken tapes and bring them back to life!
There’s a new promotional sign outside the store!
You can display different ads that boost sales and generate profit in different ways. Once the sign is unlocked, it’s up to you to decide which bonuses best fit your store strategy.
Although these features were added in a previous patch, we never officially mentioned them to the community.
You can now store standees, decorations, shelves, and other boxed items on the two shelving units located in the employee breakroom. We’ve also added wall-mounted shelves near the garage door to help you manage inventory and organize movies you want to keep in storage.
We’ve added several new decoration items to the office catalogue, including ceiling lights, additional movie set props, and new display cases.
For all you holographic movie collectors out there, these new display cases will let you create some awesome setups! As always, we’d love to see your stores, so be sure to share screenshots on our Discord.
While we’re hard at work on the upcoming Video Game Update arriving in a few months, we still managed to squeeze three new releases into this patch!
Attempting to load a missing or potentially corrupted save file will now check for an available backup.
Added symbols to the cotton candy request process to improve accessibility for colorblind players.
When a new movie genre is unlocked, the free movie bundle stays available on the market TAB of the office computer until it's claimed by the player.
Capital letters will no longer break font names when choosing a store name. However, the first time you load and save your game, your save file name might be labeled as "Retro Rewind".
Added the current day of the week to the game's UI.
Hi to all video store owners!
It’s been one month since Retro Rewind launched on Steam, and we wanted to give you guys a little update! We are currently working hard on the next features. We did add a few small things already, but the first main update will be coming shortly.
Our community poll on Discord wrapped up and the video store owners have spoken!
We are excited to announce that we’ll be adding more depth to customer profiles in a future update. Each customer will have their own membership page, featuring detailed information and a breakdown of their previous fees.
We’ll also be introducing a VIP Club as an upgrade to the standard membership. Customers will be able to sign up for a seasonal pass, giving them access to exclusive discounts and perks.
Additionally, many of you have been asking for a way to deal with… impatient customers 😤
We hear you, and it’s something we’re actively looking into!
We are currently working on the Repair Station! For all you movie collectors out there, don’t throw away your damaged tapes just yet. You’ll soon be able to fix them up and put them back on your shelves.
This update will be dropping soon (along with extra goodies)!
Looking a bit further ahead, we wanted to share a small teaser of a much bigger update coming in a few months.
Let’s just say… this one is going to bring back a LOT of memories.
For any new players who missed the previous news, we’ve shared a roadmap of free post-launch updates for Retro Rewind.
Some of these features have already made their way into the game since the roadmap was announced and there’s more to come!
Since launch, our players have shared some of the most unique and colorful video stores we’ve ever seen! Here’s a small compilation of some of the best images we’ve received on our Discord. Enjoy!
Tohubohu
Jenn
Hank Jr
Wilko Ambrosity
ChariotsChariots
dettie
AlsoKnownAsT
pschraeer
TobiWanKenobi95
max
CoffeeCat991 RJ_lite
formal ninja
SDolphin
Mischievous Biscuit
Hayrizon
Elunaria
PWNERX
IllegalCrayon
NickZee
Add content
Added a “Teleport Stuck Movies” button next to storage drop box.
Balancing
Increased the likelihood of customers picking movies from their favorite genre or new releases
Increased the likelihood of customers picking movies in small and medium-sized stores.
Increased the likelihood of customers picking their favorite movie
Increased number of clients in mid and large store sizes.
Clients now prioritize unreserved shelves to avoid queues and have a higher chance of picking up movies immediately.
Clients now stop grabbing snacks, candy, and playing arcade games at store closing time for faster closing
Reduced the default chance of new staff requesting a raise
Improvement
Improved stairs collisions
Adjusted controller dead zone for improved responsiveness
Improved save game stability
Save slots now include up to 4 backup files in your save folder
Add a interface when the game is saving
Added net worth display on the computer desktop
Added a notification indicator (!) on the phone when it rings
Save files now include up to 4 backups (backup, backup1, backup2, backup3)
Optimized popcorn machine effects
Reduced text sign light intensity.
Set ceiling decorations to cast only self shadows, because Ovni's shadow on the ground was too big.
Adjusted RVO avoidance size and weight to feel faster while allowing clients to pass through crowded areas.
Translation
Add (BETA) Chinese (中文) and (BETA) Portuguese Brazilian
Fixed the French computer market header image
Improved English text grammar
Fix issues
Fixed Discord link
Fixed adult movie posters (image) not being censored when reserved requested by clients
Fixed collision issues outside playable areas
Fixed invisible collision for shelves near the checkout
Fixed a rare issue where customers could pick movies directly from display shelves
Fixed an issue where FOV settings could be overridden by certain stations (e.g., popcorn machine, return desk)
Fixed an issue where cartridges held by customers would drop to the ground after loading a save: On load, “in-hand” movies are transferred to the rental system to prevent them from falling to the ground
Fixed on loading, flag rent movies will not be place on shelves and be invisible
Removed navigation mesh impact from wall-mounted decorations
Fixed issue where players could pick up movies in Move and Design mode, breaking shelf connections and interactivity.
We’re only a few days past our official release, and it’s incredible to see that over 100,000 video stores have already opened!
The positivity surrounding the game has truly blown us away… Many of you already know this, but we’re just two developers at Blood Pact Studios. We’ve spent nearly two years working on this project, and your incredible support has made our dream a reality.
Our top priority right now is addressing any bugs you may encounter. If you do run into an issue, please report it on our Discord. It helps us a lot!
Looking ahead, we’re excited to officially confirm that more content is coming to Retro Rewind! We’ve been gathering feedback and revisiting ideas to shape our upcoming roadmap. Take a look below!
First of all, all upcoming updates will be completely FREE. Even though Retro Rewind has launched as a full release, we have no plans to charge for future content. Our goal is to keep building on the game and make it the best video store experience possible for all players.
We also want to mention that this roadmap is subject to change based on community feedback. This is an evolving process, so please keep sharing your suggestions. While we don’t have specific release dates just yet, we’ll be working hard to bring these updates to you over time.
Now, get back to your video stores and keep the business running. Your customers are waiting for their movies! 🙂
Cheers, The Retro Rewind Team
Minor Patch CL 1974 & 1994 Balancing
Balance sick and raise to increase each day instead of having a flat % chance
Increased maximum CV generated per day from 3 to 4
Improvement
Add more strings states to the catalog repair counter text (Repair it, Completed)
Add color and icon in the ESC menu to prevent accidental clicks.
Move several louds sounds into Phonophobia sound class (plane, helicopter, emergency siren)
Improve stability of AI task
Added a preview in the menu context showing the resell value of objects (e.g., Movie Shelf, Sell Product ($35))
Translation
Fix calendar textures in Spanish (ES).
Loc: Fix broken string in the catalogue.
Add more localization on Italian (74% done)
Fix issues
Fixed AI stopping working when they wanted to take a pause, but had both no-bathroom and no-sleep skills
Fixed New release T_bkg_Com_01 texture hand orientation
Fixed slush machine - The paper cup do not move anymore to flavor pumps while been dragging down, but not totally in the hand of the player
Fixed you cannot prevent anymore the trigger to spawn correctly on quest Go to black market if the player close the back door to fast
Fixed UI icons on new day where always tint orange
Remove the invisible extra Winter 24th Holiday event
Fixed Player cannot teleport anymore the staff at the checkout when they were not using it
Fixed collision size of the display mesh
Temporarily disabled Convolution bloom causing bad performance on ultra wide monitor
Fixed selling price still visible when the clearance bin was moved
Fixed a late fee request string that was wrongly typed
Fix back alley issue where movies was getting stuck and cannot be pickup.
Add a system to check if staff spawns are corrupt, deleting them if necessary.
Make shelves more robust in code when moved to avoid floating movies.
Hide unused progression bar on Task list.
To celebrate the launch, Retro Rewind: Video Store Simulator is now available with a 20% launch discount! It's time to start running your very own video rental store.
The development of Retro Rewind has been an incredible journey. We poured our hearts into this project and truly hope you enjoy the experience. We’d also like to thank everyone who followed the development process, played the demo, and shared their feedback and ideas. The community helped shape Retro Rewind, and we’re incredibly grateful for all the support.
Books & Movies Bundle!
With the launch of Retro Rewind, we’re teaming up with Bookshop Simulator. This is the perfect bundle for all you shop simulator enthusiasts!
Patch Notes
A few content creators and beta testers received early copies of Retro Rewind to help test and promote the game. To keep track of improvements, fixes, and additional content, here are the changes we made right before the official release in our first patch update: Gameplay Balance
Increased time between phone calls and the number of Phone calls now varied day by day instead of always being 2 per day.
Greatly increased event bonuses for movie genre rentals.
From now on, the more snack shelves your store has, the greater the chance customers will buy snacks.
Reduced the chance of employees taking breaks over time.
Reduced the cost of using the SKU search system.
Reduced the price of certain New Release movies.
Reduced the market value of Holographic New Release movies.
Increased chance of staff resigning if you decline their sick day.
Increased chance of staff asking for a raise (10% → 12%) and getting sick (15% → 16%).
Greatly reduced the number of customers asking for help anywhere in the store.
Increased chance customers will pick movies from the clearance bin.
Increased cotton candy price from $3.00 → $3.75.
Improvement
Added a backup save file system to backup functional save files
The Clearance Bin now sells items at 50% of their market value instead of a flat $5. Holographic movies are subtly more interesting now…!
Flyers can now be stored in the flyer stand.
Added a Movie Data list on the computer.
Added a Times Rented stat for movies.
Added a visual New Release sticker on New Release tagged movie.
Holographic movies are now slightly more shiny
Improved CPU optimization
It's now possible to have negative money balance at the checkout, allowing you to give change back to the client. Previously, the issue was that if you collected money from a client while a staff member was waiting to be paid, the staff would receive their daily salary at that moment, leaving you without enough cash to return the change.
New contents
Added Cheat Room.
Cheat door unlocks at night when store is at level 20.
Added new shelf skins for New Releases.
Added censored adult movies option
Added wall skins
Added decorations
Added hidden notes
Visual Improvements and 90s decoration
Reduced windows glass refraction intensity.
Added decorative toys and collectibles in the office
(Work in progress) Added controller support
(Work in progress) Added Español (Alaris and Axel) and Italiano (Benny and Firefox) languages
Bug Fixes
Fixed a fatal crash when launching the game with no internet connection caused by a JSON request returning HTML.
Changed Rotate Object key from Q → TAB.
Improved AI stability at checkout queues.
Fixed snack event bonus not applying.
Fixed Store Expansion UI issue.
Fixed a soft lock situation where player would be trapped in the toilet.
Fixed Staff going to toilet and falling asleep at the same time.
Fixed multiple issues with staff like going to the toilet and falling asleep at the same time.
Fixed player could talk to the Staff before they reach the punch machine when they were sick.
Fixed multiple issues with the Checkout interaction
Add missing beta testers in the credits.
Here’s the official launch trailer:
We hope you’re all as excited as we are for the big day. We can’t wait to finally share the full game with everyone and see the amazing video stores you create!
Cheers, The Retro Rewind Team
As the end of the year approaches, we figured we could wrap up 2025 with a little development update! But first, let’s start with a bit of Retro Rewind news!
Launch Date Month
We can’t give a specific date just yet, but we are well on track for a March 2026 release! We’re making good progress every day. Only a few more months to go before you get to officially open your video store!
January 2026 Playtest
We plan on releasing a closed Beta version sometime towards the end of January to help playtest important features. If you would like to participate, please keep an eye on our Discord for more info yearly next year.
Seasons and Events
We’ve been hard at work creating a wide variety of custom events to bring more life and personality to the game. What you experienced in the demo with the Harvest Festival was just a small taste of what all four seasons have in store! With Christmas right around the corner, we’re excited to share a teaser image from the Retro Rewind Winter Holidays event.
Staff with Personality
Over the last month, we’ve been hard at work building a dynamic staff system for the game. The goal is to support the player without ever fully replacing them. Every employee you hire comes with their own skill levels and quirks. Bathroom breaks, sick days, and even raise requests are all part of the experience of being a store manager. Remember: your employees are helpful, but not perfect :)
If you’d like to dive deeper into the staff system, be sure to check out one of our recent posts in the General channel on our Discord.
Thank you RR players!
Thanks to everyone who had the chance to try our demo. We gathered great feedback and have been truly overwhelmed by the positive response. Your support has been incredibly motivating and pushes us to keep improving and deliver the best game possible.
We wish you all happy holidays and we are stoked for the official launch in 2026! PS: We’ve added a ton of cool new releases inspired by classic ’80s and early ’90s films. Can you guess which movies these three are based on?
We heard you and added: Fees!
Customers will now be charged a fee if they return your movies late (or bring them back broken).
Fees
Price
Late
$2
Broken
$20
What about Rewind or Reservation fees?
From our research, rewind fees were not a popular business model and were generally disliked by customers. We did not want the checkout interaction to constantly be interrupted by various fees like one client forgetting to rewind a movie, the next returning it late, another having a reservation fee, and so on. For the sake of fun and flow, we have kept it limited to only Late and Broken fees for now. Depending on player feedback, we may revisit this decision in the future.
We felt that the first two days of the demo were a bit too long since there aren’t many tasks to do when the store first opens. Based on your feedback, we have introduced new business hours that vary depending on the day of the week. This adds a touch of realism while making the game more condensed and enjoyable.
Day of the week
Business hours
Monday - Wednesday
8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Thursday - Saturday
8:00 AM to 12:00 AM
Sunday
8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Added a photosensitivity mode (disables the light flash from fireworks)
Added a Field of View (FOV) setting
Added support for ultrawide monitors
Clients will no longer prevent you from placing or picking up movies from the shelves
Removed the “Tutorial Completed” popup at Day 4 in the demo, as it was confusing many players into thinking the demo ended there
We have started working on translating the game, but none of them are ready for this update. For now, the language button is disabled. We are currently looking for help translating the game into: Italian, Japanase, Portuguese and Spanish.
Oh, and we’re working on the release version of the game, though I’m guessing that’s no surprise.
Worked on the issue with movies getting stuck in the return station. Hopefully, it’s now resolved
Greatly improved the chances of all your reservations being cleared from the Reserved shelf during the day
Fixed an infinite money exploit at the checkout (you can no longer give more money than you have; thank you GrayStillPlays)
Fixed an issue where the store name could be infinitely long (it now scales down to fit your storefront)
Fixed the issue where the Reserved shelf could be moved
Text and grammar corrections
The demo has been played by over 4,000 players since November 1st.
The median playtime is 1 hour and 14 minutes, placing it well above average compared to other Steam demos. Thank you, everyone!
Retro Rewind Demo - Patch 1501
- Fixed missing glass on Tape Dealer.
- Fixed an issue where the player could get softlocked when talking to an NPC while sitting at the checkout.
- Fixed movie duplication issue at the Return Station.
- Disabled ESC button event in the main menu options to avoid an softlock.
- Balance XP needs between levels and machine prices.
- Increased the chance of a client receiving their reserved movie.
The official Retro Rewind demo is out today! Head over to the Steam demo page and give it a shot!
Do you have some feedback to share after playing? Is there something you really liked in the demo? What is THE best movie from the 80s and 90s in your opinion? Jump in our Discord and let us know!
RETRO REWIND - DEMO
Enjoy the demo!
Cheers!
The RR Team
Mark your calendars! The official Retro Rewind Demo will be available early morning on November 1st.
In the demo, you’ll experience a trip down memory lane! Open shop and play your first week as the proud new owner of a video store. This is the perfect time to get a small glimpse of what Retro Rewind has to offer!
For those who joined us during the open playtest, we invite you to jump back in! We’ve added plenty of new features, like a shady tape dealer offering exclusive movies, new colors and wallpapers to make your shop stand out and the Harvest Festival event to wrap up the demo. We’ve also made numerous improvements based on your amazing feedback (thank you again for all the support!)
Speaking of feedback, the demo is also a great opportunity for you guys to share your thoughts with us over on our Discord or in the Steam discussions! We’re still hard at work on finishing up the game and the more feedback we have now, the better our game will be on release.
Enjoy the demo!
Cheers!
The RR Team
We’ve been getting this question a lot lately: Will there be an adult movie section in the store?
Most video stores back in the day had a separate “Adults Only” corner. It's an iconic part of the experience and we've been debating whether to include it in Retro Rewind. We fear it could affect the game’s rating or turn some players away.
We’re considering a lighthearted, comedic take on the adult genre with stylized and non-vulgar artwork. Movie titles and cover art would lean into light humor and parody, rather than realistic or too explicit details. The adult movies are created using the same Movie Creation Tool that we developed for all other genres that combines hand-drawn artwork (no AI black magic here!) with a massive list of original titles we came up with. This will create some funny and bizarre combinations!
This genre won’t be visible in the Marketplace on the computer. To buy adult movies, you’ll need to visit a shady VHS dealer who will occasionally setup shop in a back alley behind the store. We designed it this way so players who aren’t interested in this genre won’t encounter it, since it isn’t a core part of the game. Also, this mysterious character adds an extra touch of humor to the mix!
The Dealer will also offer bootleg movies for half their market value and the occasional holographic rarity.
Here’s an example of an in-game adult movie to give you a sense of the direction we’re exploring. The way we see it, if the movie could also be considered a comedy, the content is safe for all ages.
Do you think a silly, lighthearted adult section would be a fun addition to the game? Or do you feel it might take away from the experience for some players? Comment on the post.
We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Cheers!
Hi,
We’ve gathered your amazing feedback and have been hard at work addressing most of it. Thank you for your participation and your help! ːsteamthumbsupː
The updates made following player feedback:
- Clients now have multiple clothing designs, hairstyles, glasses, hats, beards, and more.
- Clients will less frequently keep their mouths wide open and will return to a neutral expression more quickly.
- Client eyes and lips change more often.
- The game now pauses when the menu is displayed.
- A trash can has been added under the Slush machine.
- Added missing mapping context (key displays) at Checkout.
- Changed the price of Old movies: now $3 instead of $4. Regular one stays at $4.
- Decorations, machines, shelves and movie count now affect how many clients visit the store and how often.
- Greatly reduced the chance of clients walking in front of someone already at checkout.
- Greatly reduced the chance of clients walking behind your counter.
- More text variations and grammar fixes.
- Improvements to the Slush machine.
- Adjustment for audio volume
- Multiple fixes to the tutorial.
Coming up next
- A shady VHS dealer who runs a blackmarket stand in a backalley next to the store.
- Continued work on weather, events, and seasons.
- And, as your most requested feature: Employees!
We’re working on the official demo for the game. While we don’t have a set release date yet, our goal is to have it ready before the Holidays. The demo will include everything from the playtest + a special Fall Event, the Back Alley, and the Dealer. If time allows, we’ll also add the late-game systems.
Today’s the day!
The Retro Rewind open playtest is officially live, and players can finally open shop for the very first time.
As we mentioned in our previous post, the main goal of this playtest is to gather your feedback so we can make the game the best it can be before launch. Was there something unclear while playing? Did you run into anything that felt tedious or unfun? Are there features missing that you’d like to see in the final version? Did you spot a bug, or do you simply want to share something you absolutely loved? We’d love to hear all about it!
Share your thoughts with us on the Steam Discussion Board or join the conversation on Discord.
Keep in mind, this is our very first playtest and the game is still rough around the edges. We plan to add a lot more content and polish before the official Steam release. ːBonesawSkellyː
Have fun, and enjoy your trip down memory lane!
- The RR Team
We’re excited to announce the very first Retro Rewind open playtest will be available soon! Sign-ups are now open on the game’s Steam page, and you’ll receive a notification as soon as the playtest begins.
This playtest offers a taste of the full game experience, letting you step into the early 1990s and run your own video rental store for the first 7 in-game days.
What’s included in the playtest:
Experience a full week as a video store owner in the early 90s.
Order movies and shelves to start building your business.
Collect 3 of the 11 available movie genres.
Play through the full rent/return daily gameplay loop.
Help customers find the perfect movie based on their requests and preferences.
Experience the excitement of 1 of many new movie releases.
Get the slush machine running to serve thirsty customers.
Use the Design Tool with a limited color set to customize your store’s walls, floor, and ceiling.
Our main goal with this playtest is to gather your feedback. We want to know what you enjoyed, what could use improvement, and what features you’d love to see in the full release. We are still actively working on the game and we want our players to help us make RR the best possible experience.
Share your thoughts with us on the Steam discussion board or in our Discord. We will be reading every comment and suggestion.
And of course… Don't forget to wishlist the game! Enjoy the playtest and stay tuned for more updates coming soon!
About
This page aggregates Steam news feeds, patch notes, and developer announcements for Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator, sourced from official Steam community posts.
Major updates, balance changes, and seasonal events often correlate with player-count spikes — cross-reference announcements here with the live charts on the main Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator statistics page.
Articles link back to Steam for full changelogs. SteamScope refreshes news entries as new posts are published to the game's Steam hub.