Retro Rewind: Video Store Simulator is a first-person shopkeeper simulation game developed by the two-person Canadian indie studio Blood Pact Studios, released on Steam on March 17, 2026, priced at $19.90. Players manage a video rental store set in the early 1990s, stocking shelves with thousands of fictional VHS tapes, handling customers, rewinding returned cassettes, and expanding the shop from a modest storefront into a neighborhood destination. It sold over 100,000 copies in its first five days.

How a Failed Gore Game Led to a VHS Goldmine

Retro Rewind took 15 months of 60-plus-hour weeks from concept to release. The idea came out of both nostalgia and the fact that Blood Pact’s first game, the exceptionally gory Bonesaw, did not sell especially well. Blood Pact’s Bonesaw sold about 10,000 copies at a low price point , a rough debut for any studio, let alone one with only two employees. Co-founder Samuel Gauthier told The Hollywood Reporter that he drew from childhood trips to his local rental shop: “I was thinking of the time I was younger. I was going to my local video store — the little one, because there was not a big Blockbuster in my town.”

Here’s the twist: Gauthier has never been to a Blockbuster . He grew up in Quebec, where the chain’s footprint was thin. But the smaller, independent video stores he frequented left a mark deep enough to anchor an entire game. I’d argue that this outsider’s perspective is part of why Retro Rewind feels less like a brand tribute and more like a love letter to the ritual itself: the carpet smell, the Friday-night rush, the satisfying click of a cassette sliding into a rewinder.

14,000 Fake Movies and a Cash-Only Register

The game includes 14,000 fictional movies, and the virtual store features an aesthetic reminiscent of Blockbuster. As Gauthier told The Hollywood Reporter, the vast majority of titles were created by prompts entered into a proprietary database, while the team focused on 21 films inspired by major ’90s blockbusters , including a Ghostbusters send-up called Phantom Patrol. The period-accuracy commitment runs deep. In an interview with 80 Level, the developers explained their philosophy: “For the most part, we stay faithful to the timeline. For example, there are no credit card interactions at the checkout counter.”

Time for each in-game day begins at 8:00 am and starts counting after the player opens the store by turning on the “Open” sign. The game’s clock counts to 10:00 pm. The player can work the cash register, scanning movies and handing out a specific amount of change, with movie rental pricing tied to the age of the film and the rarity of the copy, some copies being marked as “limited edition” with increased prices. Rainy Friday nights flood the store with customers. In my view, it’s these small, granular touches that separate Retro Rewind from the assembly-line sim games clogging Steam’s new releases page.

Retro Rewind’s Steam Launch Broke the Meter

Retro Rewind debuted at number one on the Steam Store, and as of its launch week had remained in the top 10. By March 21, five days after launch, the duo announced they had already crossed the 100,000 sales milestone. The studio posted a Steam update captured by GamesRadar, calling the response overwhelming for a team of just two.

As GamesRadar reported, the game now sits at over 4,250 Steam reviews averaging 95% positive, and SteamDB estimates put total copies sold closer to 150,000 or even 200,000. The demo played a critical role in building momentum. According to an analysis by WN Hub summarizing GameDiscoverCo data, before the demo launched, wishlists were trickling in at roughly 10 per day. After the demo went live, that number jumped to 300. The developers also personally reached out to streamers and YouTubers, a scrappy guerrilla marketing approach that paid off enormously for a two-person team with no publisher budget.

Two VHS Sims, One Week, Very Different Vibes

In a coincidence that feels almost scripted, a second VHS store simulator launched just six days before Retro Rewind. Gunmetal Games and Real Fake Games released Rewind 99, an open-world video rental store simulator, in Early Access on Steam on March 11, 2026. Set in a vibrant, low-poly version of 1999, Rewind 99 puts players in charge of the world’s last remaining video rental store, fighting to survive against the rise of the futuristic streaming monopoly, RentNet.

The two games diverge sharply in tone. Where Retro Rewind is cozy and reverent, Rewind 99 leans chaotic. Players can unlock unconventional side hustles including installing a Mechanical Bull, running a Claw Machine, partnering with an Illicit Candy Dealer, and hiring a Repo Man to recover overdue rentals. It supports up to four-player co-op. Recent reviews sit at 73% positive, while the overall rating holds at “Very Positive” with 80% of 321 reviews positive. Gunmetal Games plans for Rewind 99 to remain in Early Access for approximately two years before fully releasing.

My take: both games have legitimate appeal, but Retro Rewind’s commercial dominance suggests that when it comes to VHS nostalgia, people want the warm glow more than the chaos. They want to remember the ritual, not remix it.

The Depth Problem Nobody Can Stop Arguing About

Not everyone is sold. The most persistent criticism in online forums and Steam reviews targets the game’s shallow management layer. One prominent Steam review states: “Retro Rewind is a fun way to burn a few hours, but the game doesn’t offer much and gets very repetitive after a while. There are no actual management aspects of the game that affects your store. You can’t set prices, run ads or sales, or do much of anything except buy more tapes and let customers come rent them.”

Despite its strong start, Retro Rewind faces a familiar challenge for early indie hits: a shortage of endgame content. Player data suggests relatively short play sessions, prompting the developers to expand their roadmap. GameDiscoverCo analyst Simon Carless noted that the average playtime clocks in around eight and a half hours, with a median of about four. That’s a potential concern for long-term retention.

But the defenders are equally vocal. Former video store employees have flooded Steam with deeply personal reviews. One, posted on April 8, described the experience as so accurate it “kinda freaked me out,” praising the game’s faithful recreation of the tasks, the annoying customers, and the balance between restocking and serving. I’d argue this split reveals something interesting: Retro Rewind isn’t really competing with other management sims. It’s competing with memory itself. And memory doesn’t need a skill tree.

Real Video Stores Are Still Fighting to Exist

Retro Rewind’s success lands in a moment when real-world physical media holdouts are battling for survival. Scarecrow Video is an independently owned, nonprofit video store in Seattle, founded in 1988 and based in the University District. The store has a library of over 150,000 titles, among the largest in the United States. In 2024, Scarecrow launched the S.O.S. (Save Our Scarecrow) fundraising campaign after facing the threat of permanent closure. The campaign ultimately raised $1.8 million. Then, in January 2026, Scarecrow purchased its longtime University District building for $5.575 million , securing its future after years of precarity.

On the opposite coast, Vidiots is an independent nonprofit video rental store in Los Angeles, founded by Cathy Tauber and Patricia Polinger in 1985. Vidiots reopened in June 2023, after investing nearly $2,000,000 to rehabilitate the Eagle Theatre in the Eagle Rock neighborhood. The Vidiots storefront maintains a collection of 70,000 DVD, Blu-ray and rare VHS tapes available for rental.

These places aren’t relics. They’re active arguments that browsing matters, that curation by humans beats curation by algorithm, and that physical media carries something streaming simply cannot replicate. In my view, Retro Rewind taps into the same nerve. The game isn’t just simulating a job. It’s simulating a place that used to exist everywhere and now barely exists at all.

What Comes Next for Blood Pact Studios

The developers are targeting the end of April for the first update, which will include the Tape Repair Station and more. The roadmap also covers additional shop storage, more supported languages, and community-voted features. Gauthier says he does not currently know if Retro Rewind will come to consoles, noting that development kits for those platforms are “very expensive.” Gauthier and his partner already have their sights set on developing a new game, and the Blood Pact team would like their next endeavor to return to the multiplayer or co-op space.

Meanwhile, the modding community hasn’t waited. A popular Nexus Mods project replaces the game’s 14,000 fictional titles with real movie names and authentic cover art. An even more ambitious mod swaps in films spanning 1940 to 2025 and adds Blockbuster-style VHS cases. Some players prefer the originals, finding the made-up titles charming. Others want the full Blockbuster fantasy, right down to the box art for Jurassic Park sitting on the shelf where it belongs.

Frequently Asked Questions About Retro Rewind: Video Store Simulator

How much does Retro Rewind cost?

The base price for Retro Rewind: Video Store Simulator on PC is $19.90 on Steam. It launched with a sale price of $15.92 until March 24. A free demo is also available on the Steam store page.

Who made Retro Rewind?

Retro Rewind was developed by the two-person team at Blood Pact Studios , a Canadian indie studio co-founded by Samuel Gauthier. The game took 15 months of 60-plus-hour weeks from concept to release.

Does Retro Rewind have multiplayer or co-op?

No, Retro Rewind is single-player only. Gauthier has said the team would like their next game to return to co-op.

Is Retro Rewind on consoles?

Not currently. Gauthier says he does not currently know if Retro Rewind will come to consoles, noting that development kits are “very expensive.” Valve has assessed that Retro Rewind is Steam Deck playable.

What is the difference between Retro Rewind and Rewind 99?

Both are VHS store simulators released in March 2026, but they differ significantly. Retro Rewind is set in the early ’90s and focuses on cozy, solo store management. Rewind 99 is set in 1999 with a low-poly art style, featuring an open world, side hustles, and up to four-player co-op , with the player fighting a fictional streaming monopoly called RentNet. Rewind 99 is in Early Access with a “Very Positive” rating on Steam.

How many copies has Retro Rewind sold?

Blood Pact announced 100,000 copies sold by March 21, and SteamDB estimates reported by GamesRadar put total copies closer to 150,000 or even 200,000.