Posted by: That One Guy Loki from That One Game Studio
Hey folks my name is Loki the solo dev, night owl, and long time lover of shop sims and small scale racing chaos. I’ve been quietly working away on Pocket Racer Shop Sim, a game about running your own hobby shop, cracking open part packs, tinkering on tiny race cars, and hosting race nights with your friends… all wrapped in a chill, cozy shop sim vibe.
Thanks for checking out the project and I figured the first post should be a proper introduction to both the game and myself, so let’s jump in.
At its core, it’s a blend of:
Shop Simulator: Stock shelves, design your shop layout, decorate the space, and keep your customers happy.
Car Builder / Tinkerer Sandbox: Hunt for parts, open booster packs, compare stats, and build the perfect little racer.
Track Designer: Use the editor to create your own race tracks that demand different builds to win.
Small Scale Racing: Fast, fun, and a little chaotic. Tune your car, test your setups, and watch them rip around your tracks.
Multiplayer Social Hangout: Bring your save file and your cars to a friend’s shop, race together, and show off your builds.
It’s chill, creative, and just competitive enough when it matters.
One of the most addictive systems already in place is the part pack opening. You’ll rip open randomized packs to find motors, gears, wheels, batteries, chassis, and more. Each part has different stats that change how your racer handles.
Looking for that higher-tier gears?
Hunting for the perfect balanced wheels?
Chasing a specific rare motor pull?
Welcome to the rabbit hole.
And once you’ve got the parts…
You can build, tweak, tune, and test your creations.
The track designer is already taking shape, and even in its current state it’s surprisingly powerful.
Mix and match pieces
Build large sprawling tracks or small tight circuits
Make tracks that encourage specific car setups
The goal is that every player can build something fun, unique and then share it with friends in multiplayer.
This is the part I’m most excited about.
At any time while playing singleplayer, you can host your save and invite friends into your shop.
Your friends bring:
Their cars
Their inventory
Their progression
And inside your shop they can:
Buy packs
Upgrade their cars at your workbench
Race on your tracks
Think of it like inviting friends over to your real life hobby shop to swap parts, talk builds, and run race nights together.
It’s social, it’s chill, and it’s already working in the playtest.
Right now multiplayer is aiming for 4–8 players depending on testing, but even with 2–4 it already feels like a fun hangout.
I’m not committing to dates as I work nights, and the motto around here is “It’ll be ready when it’s ready.”
But I can give you a look at what’s cooking for the future:
More track pieces (ramps, corners, straights, special sections)
Loads more car parts to expand tuning depth
More pack types including higher rarity tiers
More shop furniture & decor to improve Ambience and creativity
New shopper models & shopper personality traits
Rent dues system for a touch of shop management strategy
Deeper shop customization tools
Car Rating System to help compare builds and progression
Hirable staff for your growing shop
Track based leaderboards
Player emotes for multiplayer personality
Market events (sales, shortages, specialty parts, etc.)
Player model customization
Weather systems to change the shop vibe
On the subject of “What’s coming next”… let’s just say someone keeps sitting on the checkout counter.
Pocket Racer Shop Sim is currently in a closed playtest, but I’ll be expanding access as things stabilize and as I move toward a public demo. Stay on the look out for future updates as I open it up to more testers.
If this whole vibe seems up your alley:
Please Wishlist the game as it helps SO much!
Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions as we build this game together, so hit that Discuss button and leave a comment.
Thanks for being here.
Can’t wait to share more soon.
— That One Guy Loki
That One Game Studio