▶ From appraisals of 200 items to price negotiations and theft prevention…
▶ A realistic pawn shop management simulation inspired by ‘Pawn Stars’
Turkish independent developer Next Sky Games, together with publishers Ultimate Games SA and PlayWay SA, officially released the pawnbroker simulator game ‘Pawnbroker Simulator’ on Steam PC on March 11th.
Pawnbroker Simulator is directly inspired by the popular American TV shows Pawn Stars and Hardcore Pawn. Beyond a simple store management simulation, it aims to fully replicate the real-life pawnshop owner’s experiences, including appraisals, negotiations, management, and even security threats.
Emotions, Negotiation, Security, Reputation… A Day in the Life of a Pawn Shop Owner
Players run a small pawnshop and grow their business. The basic gameplay involves identifying whether items brought in by customers are genuine or counterfeit, offering a reasonable price to purchase them, and then reselling them for a profit. The game features over 200 different items, and each customer has a unique personality and negotiating style, resulting in unique trading situations.
The game’s core system consists of four main parts.
▲ Item Appraisal – Players must personally and thoroughly examine items brought in by customers. Rather than automatically providing information via tablet, players must independently assess the item’s condition and value. As your skill level improves, your appraisal accuracy increases.
▲ Haggling – This is where special attention is paid to the negotiation system, the heart of pawnshop gaming. If your offer falls below 60%, negotiations are rejected. The 60-85% range is marked as a yellow zone, indicating negotiable value. Above 85%, the green zone is immediately accepted. To maximize profits, you must read your customers’ reactions and personalities and offer your price at the optimal time.
▲ Security – During the day, sophisticated thieves threaten stores, while at night, even more daring intruders threaten them. Installing CCTV enhances security, but paradoxically, it can also provide unfavorable evidence to the police. It also involves a moral choice, requiring you to weigh the risks of purchasing stolen goods.
▲ Reputation – Your store’s reputation depends on how you treat your customers. Building a positive reputation through the review system will attract more quality customers and products, while a negative reputation can have a direct impact on your business.
In addition, various management elements are included, such as store interior decoration, display shelf arrangement, warehouse management, pawn loan service, and skill-based character growth system.
Operates in two modes: Campaign + Sandbox
The game offers two modes: Campaign and Sandbox. Campaign mode allows players to grow through step-by-step objectives like managing financial pressures, paying bills, and expanding their business. Sandbox mode allows players to freely run their own pawnshop without constraints.
The development team also revealed a roadmap for upcoming updates after launch. Two months after launch, a Storage Wars-style update will be added, and four months later, a staff hiring system will be introduced.
The first title created by the ‘fashion duo’
Next Sky Games is a two-person indie development team that creates business simulation games that combine strategy and humor. Phone Broker Simulator is the team’s first commercial title and, as part of the “Made in Turkey” franchise, is a representative work of the Turkish indie game ecosystem.
The team has completely revamped the game based on gamer feedback collected since the Steam Next Fest demo launch in the summer of 2025. They’ve rebuilt the tutorial to streamline onboarding, introduced smarter guest AI for more realistic interactions, and overhauled the feedback system.
The update demo released in November 2025 featured a number of major improvements, including the addition of a tutorial guide character named Uncle Barry, improvements to the shop appeal system, enhanced customer browsing behavior, and the introduction of a new reputation system.
Demo response was 91% positive… “The bargaining system is the key to the fun.”
The pre-release Steam demo garnered a 91% positive rating from 34 user reviews. Gaming media outlet GameSpew praised the game, saying, “Its hands-on approach to learning the item appraisal process sets it apart from other business simulations.” They also praised the moral choices surrounding the trade of stolen goods and the paradoxical dangers of the CCTV system, adding to its uniquely engaging gameplay.
The ability to adapt strategies to each customer’s different negotiation styles and the sense of accomplishment from building a store from scratch were cited as key factors in the community’s positive response. Demo maintained a 75% positive rating in reviews over the past 30 days.
Phone Broker Simulator is available now on Steam. Console versions for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2 are slated for release in 2026.
Pawnbroker Simulator Basic Information
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Next Sky Games (Turkey, 2-person development) |
| Publisher | Ultimate Games SA / PlayWay SA (Poland) |
| Genre | Management simulation / sandbox / indie |
| Release Platform | PC (Steam) / PS5·Xbox Series |
| PC release date | March 11, 2026 |
| Play Mode | Campaign / Sandbox |
| Number of registered items | More than 200 types |
| Demo Steam Review | Positive (91% positive out of 34) |
| Steam page | store.steampowered.com/app/3997360 |
