Probably Stolen difficulty explained: Price Gouge, Mark Up and Thin Margins modifiers, rent increases, permit costs, reputation multipliers and Endless Mode.
Probably Stolen Difficulty Guide: All Three Modes
Probably Stolen has three difficulty modes, and they change more than enemy health. They change your retail markup, rent growth, permit prices, property prices, supplier markups, reputation gains, and Wild's favor. The mode you pick is the economic contract for the whole run.
This page breaks down the exact modifiers and the builds that work in each mode. For the buyout, see rent and shop buyout.
The three modes
| Mode | Label | Intended for |
|---|---|---|
| Price Gouge | Cozy | Learning the economy |
| Mark Up | Normal | The baseline experience |
| Thin Margins | Hard | Experienced shopkeepers |
The names are flavour, not difficulty labels. Price Gouge is the easiest, Mark Up is normal, and Thin Margins is hard.
Exact modifiers
| Modifier | Price Gouge | Mark Up | Thin Margins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail markup | +20% | +15% | None |
| Rent increase per payment | +2% | +5% | +10% |
| Nightly service fees | Lower | Standard | Higher |
| Vendor permit | 500 | 1,500 | 2,000 |
| Upgrade prices | Standard | Standard | +50% |
| Dr. Jackson stock | Standard | Standard | +50% |
| Supplier markup | Standard | Standard | Higher |
| Property price | Lower | Standard | Higher |
| Reputation gains | ×1.5 | ×1 | ×0.75 |
| Reputation losses | ×0.5 | ×1 | ×1.25 |
| Wild's favor | Increased | Standard | Reduced |
These numbers come from the in-game difficulty screen. They are the most reliable difficulty data available; community claims that differ should be treated as patch-specific.
Price Gouge: the learning mode
Price Gouge gives you a 20% retail markup, the slowest rent growth, the cheapest permits, and generous reputation gains. It is the mode to pick if you are learning appraisal, water, or chemistry.
The 20% markup means a bad buy is more forgiving. You can still lose money, but the margin cushion is larger. Rent rises by only 2% per payment, so a slow month does not immediately spiral.
The downside is that Price Gouge teaches habits that fail on harder modes. You can afford to be loose with stock and still profit. Do not assume the same strategy works on Thin Margins.
Mark Up: the baseline
Mark Up is the intended experience: 15% retail markup, 5% rent growth, standard fees, and standard reputation. It is the mode the game's economy is balanced around.
If you are writing a guide or comparing strategies, use Mark Up as the reference. A strategy that works here is genuinely viable, not just cushioned by easy-mode modifiers.
Thin Margins: the real test
Thin Margins removes the retail markup entirely. You cannot rely on the game to add 15% to your sale; the margin has to come from buying below value, adding value through production, and negotiating well.
At the same time:
- Rent rises by 10% per payment.
- The vendor permit costs 2,000.
- Upgrades and Dr. Jackson's stock cost 50% more.
- Suppliers charge a higher markup.
- Property is more expensive.
- Reputation gains are smaller and losses are larger.
- Wild's favor is reduced.
That is a compounding set of penalties, not a single difficulty knob. A Thin Margins run needs a tight build and a clear product line.
Best builds by mode
| Mode | Best start | Best income | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Gouge | Apprentice or Water Merchant | Water, food, small flips | Overbuilding |
| Mark Up | Any | One production line + resale | Spreading too thin |
| Thin Margins | Chemist or Water Merchant | High-margin production | Slow inventory, luxury display |
On Thin Margins, Savings and Working Pipes are stronger than usual because cash flow and water infrastructure reduce the cost of early mistakes. Bad Lease is worse than usual because rent is already rising fast.
Endless Mode and Skip Intro
The difficulty screen has two toggles:
- Endless Mode — continue after the buyout.
- Skip Intro — bypass the opening sequence.
Neither changes the difficulty modifiers. Endless Mode is for testing and late-game play; Skip Intro is for repeat runs.
Does difficulty affect achievements?
The achievements include From Nothing, the Hard Way, which requires Rock Bottom on hard mode. That confirms difficulty is part of at least one achievement condition.
Other achievements may be easier or harder by mode, but the sources used here do not document mode-specific achievement requirements beyond that. If you are hunting a specific achievement, check its condition before assuming any mode works.
How to survive Thin Margins
- Pick one product. Water, chemistry, or guns. Not all three.
- Buy inputs below market. Supplier markup is higher, so negotiate or find an alternate source.
- Build the module chain early. Quality and efficiency modules pay for themselves over a long run.
- Keep the rent reserve. A 10% increase compounds; a missed payment is worse.
- Avoid luxury display. Expensive stock ties up capital and attracts risk.
- Use reputation carefully. Losses are multiplied by 1.25; a single bad sale can hurt more than it looks.
Thin Margins changes prices, rent, permits, reputation, and supplier costs. A build that ignores those systems will fail even if the shop is busy.
FAQ
What is the hardest difficulty in Probably Stolen? Thin Margins. It removes the retail markup and increases rent, permits, upgrades, and supplier costs.
Does difficulty change the buyout price? Property price is higher on Thin Margins and lower on Price Gouge, so the buyout cost changes with mode.
Can I change difficulty mid-run? No. Difficulty is chosen at the start of a run.
What is Endless Mode? A toggle that lets you continue after the buyout. It does not change the economy.
Community source: in-game difficulty screen (version 052A), community reports, and the Steam Community guide hub ↗. Store reference: Probably Stolen ↗. Workshop examples: Steam Workshop ↗.
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