Two developers. Nearly two years of work. One hundred thousand copies in five days.
Blood Pact Studios launched Retro Rewind - Video Store Simulator on March 16, and the reception has been something the small Canadian team clearly did not see coming. By March 21, just five days after launch, the duo announced they had already crossed the 100,000 sales milestone. 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 at this point.
What you actually do in a '90s video store
The premise is exactly what it sounds like. You are dropped into the golden age of video rentals, tasked with running a Blockbuster-style shop through all the joys and indignities that entails. Manage your VHS inventory, hire staff, upgrade your store layout, and deal with customers who absolutely will not rewind their tapes before returning them.
Here's the thing: the shopkeeper sim formula is already proven on Steam, but Retro Rewind layers genuine personality on top of it. You can recommend films based on the season, charge late fees (finally, some justice), fill popcorn buckets, and deck out your store with neon signs and the kind of carpet patterns that only made sense before the internet existed. The game also draws clear inspiration from titles like Blockbuster: The Game in its embrace of VHS-era nostalgia, tapping into a collective memory that a huge slice of Steam's player base apparently wanted to revisit.
The collectible angle is a smart touch. Blood Pact stuffed the game with thousands of unique VHS tapes, each with its own title, genre, and hand-drawn cover art. Many of the in-game films are obvious parodies of real movies, and every single one has a unique code you can share with friends. That kind of detail is what separates a game people finish once from one people talk about.
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Blood Pact Studios confirmed all upcoming post-launch updates will be completely free for existing owners.
From Bonesaw to a breakout hit
Blood Pact's previous game, Bonesaw, a turn-based strategy title about beating the devil at cards by removing his fingers, launched in March 2025 and reviewed well without breaking through commercially. Retro Rewind is a different story entirely. Make sure to check out more:
