Dirty Business
In the codexSimulationEarly Access

Dirty Business

Build a criminal empire from a hidden underground hangar. Produce drugs, craft weapons, print fake money, operate cartel airstrip and more. Hire workers, expand your gang, upgrade your base and take control of city distribution solo or in co-op.

DEV: Plan Dirty GamesPUB: Plan Dirty GamesAppID 4324480
UPDATE PULSEevery ~2d·last 6d ago·25 recent on record

Is Dirty Business still being updated? — the short answer, with the evidence.

91.9
Excellent

Elixir Rating

75.8% of 1,065 Steam reviews are positive, which after adjusting for sample size gives a reception score of 73.1. The developers have shipped 17 substantial updates in the past six months, adding 18.8.

reception 73.1·support +18.8·Excellent

Computed from Steam’s own review tally and observable developer activity — never from anyone’s opinion of the game. How this is calculated

Should you look into this?

From Steam's own record

Current price

$14.99

Development

Actively supported

Last heard from developers

6 days ago

Usual rhythm

every ~2 days

Substantial updates (6 mo)

17

Current silence

3× normal

The developers post roughly every 2 days and were last heard 6 days ago — within their normal range. 17 substantial updates landed in the past six months, 5 of them major.

Distilled by the oracle

Our coverage

2 dispatches written from this game’s announcements

patchAug 21, 2026

Dirty Business Update 0.1.50 Overhauls Controls and Delivery Filtering

Update 0.1.50 for Dirty Business, published 21 August 2026, is developer Quatech's largest release in some time — the team notes they had been quiet while preparing it.

What changed

Control system overhaul The headline addition is a new input scheme. Players can now choose between two presets from the main menu's Settings screen:

  • Modern — a new, simpler and more practical control layout
  • Legacy — the original system, retained for those who prefer it

Switching between the two is unrestricted.

Order product filtering and delivery changes

  • Boxed products can now be placed into Covert Delivery vehicle baskets
  • Order product filtering and economy balancing added for Covert Delivery Operations
  • Order product filtering and economy balancing added for Island Logistics (cartel airstrip)

UI The clock is now permanently visible on screen.

Bug fixes (selected)

  • Co-op guest players no longer see workers freeze over time, a bug that also caused missing money and XP on completed orders
  • A corrupted save entry that prevented saves from loading has been resolved
  • Island deliveries now complete correctly while the player is in the pilot seat
  • Typing in chat no longer triggers in-game actions
  • Holding a full inventory and using an item now swaps rather than does nothing
  • Several rare lockup conditions when handling boxes quickly or when two players grabbed the same box are addressed

For players engaged in co-op or the game's delivery operations, the fixes to worker freezing and save corruption alone make this a meaningful update to apply promptly.

patchAug 15, 2026

Dirty Business 0.1.15 Addresses Worker Logic and Interaction Clarity

Update 0.1.15 for Dirty Business arrives with a narrow but practical mandate: make worker interactions less opaque and less prone to silent failure.

What changed

Worker logic and feedback

  • Work logic for Botanical Engineers and Weapons Technicians has been reworked, with idle reasons now described more accurately
  • Items and objects assigned to workers are marked with a new "Don't Touch" indicator; interacting with marked objects may cause a worker to refuse the task or restart it from the beginning
  • A new sound effect plays on worker interruptions
  • Idle reason displays now explain why a worker is not currently handling any task

Interruption notifications

  • Picking up or adding a Weed Bud Basket to inventory now instantly triggers an interruption notification
  • An interruption notification has been added for the Distilled Slug Extract Flask
  • Watering a plant already being watered by a worker now shows a notification, since the worker stops their action

Other improvements and fixes

  • A thicker aim reticle has been added to ease weed bud harvesting
  • The Fluorescent Light has been moved to the top of the item list in the tutorial
  • Fixed an animation error when interrupting a Botanical Engineer during packing
  • Fixed an issue where firing a worker during a disconnected player's worker tutorial made rejoining the game impossible

Taken together, the patch reduces the guesswork around worker states — players should now receive clearer signals before they accidentally derail a task rather than after.

Two years of development

■ substantial ■ routine

Oct2025AprJulOct2026AprJul

36 announcements · 17 substantial · 19 months with nothing

Recent Transmissions

30 entries in codex

Community AnnouncementsSep 22, 2026
Update 0.1.90 - Restocker Worker Improvement, Bug Fixes

Hi everyone,We’re back with a small but useful update for Restocker workers!We’ve also started working on a new elevator delivery system for the next update, which will make deliveries less dependent on boxes.Restocker Workers: Per-Item Bud…

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Community AnnouncementsSep 21, 2026
Patch 0.1.86R1F2

-Fixed an issue causing money and staff budgets to become NaN/Infinity. Invalid amounts in existing saves now reset to 0, allowing money to accumulate normally again.

Community AnnouncementsSep 20, 2026
Update 0.1.86 - Bug Fixes, Upcoming Update Informations

Hi, everyone!We’re back with critical bug fixes and news about upcoming updates. We’re currently focused on making the game as stable as possible, improving existing features, and adding new ones. Once we’ve made that progress, we’ll move o…

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Community AnnouncementsSep 18, 2026
Hotpatch 0.1.85R1F2

-Rare dealer money selling bug fixed

Community AnnouncementsSep 17, 2026
Update 0.1.85 - Product Rack Filtering, Dealer Rack Assignment Improvements

Hi again, everyone!We’re back with our second update of the day! This update introduces one new feature and improves an existing one. With these changes, you’ll be able to automate over 90% of your operations in the game.1. New Feature: Pro…

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Community AnnouncementsSep 17, 2026
Update 0.1.80 - Dealer Automation, Restocker Worker Improvements

Hi everyone,Today’s update brings more of your most-requested features! We’ve added new features that significantly expand the game’s automation options.Ahead of the major update, we’re rolling out these updates to address as many of your r…

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Community AnnouncementsSep 12, 2026
Update 0.1.70 - Restocker Workers, Bug Fixes

Hi everyone, This is the last update before our major updates. It includes a new worker, bug fixes, and UI improvements. Restocker WorkerRestockers automatically place orders for the items you assign to them and refill the worker supply rac…

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Community AnnouncementsSep 4, 2026
Update 0.1.60 - New Inventory System, Bug Fixes

Hello everyone,We knew you'd been complaining about how clunky the inventory system was, so we've prepared an update that fixes a lot of these problems. 1 – There are now separate combinations for adding items inside a box and adding the bo…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 25, 2026
Update 0.1.55 - Dealer Economy Rework, Bug Fixes

Hi everyone,While working on the big update, we've made an economy balance update to the Dealer system in response to a very frequently requested change.Dealer System Economy ReworkWe've changed dealer slots so that each holds at least 10 u…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 23, 2026
Patch 0.1.50R1F4

Fixed game lag when dropping boxes. Reduced order arrival times on Covert Business and Island deliveries. Fixed an issue where Covert Business and Island orders would not arrive.

Community AnnouncementsAug 21, 2026
Hotfix

-Staff Room layout fix for rack placement

Community AnnouncementsAug 21, 2026
Update 0.1.50 - New Controls, Order Product Filtering

Hello Everyone!We've been a little quiet lately because we were really busy working on a big new update. It comes with great features and improvements. Finally, there's a modern, more practical control/input system that is simpler and easie…

Read our dispatch on this

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Community AnnouncementsAug 8, 2026
Update 0.1.47 - Memory Optimization & Bug Fixes

Hello Everyone! We're currently working on fixing sync problems and other bugs in the background, while also developing a major update. That's why this update includes Part 1 of our performance/memory optimization along with a few bug fixes…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 4, 2026
Update 0.1.45 - Counterfeit Worker Rework, Improvements & Bug Fixes

Hello everyone!At our previous update we made reworks for Weed, Gun and LSD workers. Now, there are counterfeit (money) worker rework and fixes/improvements for other workers. Also, there are many fixes and improvements about the game.Major…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 1, 2026
Update 0.1.40R3 - Worker Reworks & Auto Save Limit & Janitors and Boxes

Hello Everyone,We made reworks for Weed, Gun and LSD workers. We are still working on rework for counterfeit workers and improvements for other workers.Workers: Botanical engineer (weed worker) tasks are now assigned with plant types instea…

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Community AnnouncementsAug 1, 2026
Hotfix 0.1.40R2

-Fix for some loading issues for both host and clients -Fix for interaction glitch issue -Fix for worker item refund issue -And a few fixes for background systems

Community AnnouncementsJul 31, 2026
Fixes For Weed, LSD and Gun Workers

Hello Everyone!There are many fixes about Weed, LSD and Gun workers.Especially packing and working machine/tool/table/station finding algorithm improved.We are still working on Money/Counterfeit Worker.Also we are still working to improve w…

Community AnnouncementsJul 30, 2026
Hotfix - Translation Fix

-Translation Fix

Community AnnouncementsJul 30, 2026
Update 0.1.30 - Quick Order List & Bug Fixes

Hello Everyone,First, we know there are bugs about workers and we are working non-stop to fix these bugs. We've completed Botanists (weed workers), Gunsmiths (gun workers) and Lab Operators (LSD workers) rework and it is available on our cl…

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Community AnnouncementsJul 28, 2026
Update 0.1.25 - Janitors (Cleaners) & Bug Fixes

Hello Everyone, First, we know there are bugs about workers and we are working non-stop to fix these bugs. I've completed Botanists (weed workers) rework and it will be available in beta today. You can join our beta tests on our Discord ser…

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Community AnnouncementsJul 25, 2026
Hotfix for News Window

-Fixed an issue where the news window could get stuck on the prison scene in very rare cases.

Community AnnouncementsJul 25, 2026
Update 0.1.20 - Repeating Worker Tasks & Improvements

Hello everyone,We are still improving workers, fixing bugs and adding new features to the game.Thank you for your patience and supports

Community AnnouncementsJul 25, 2026
Hotfix for Island Logistics Orders Not Being Received

-Fixed the issue where new Island Logistics orders were not being received.

Community AnnouncementsJul 24, 2026
Update 0.1.16 - Lab Operator Rework & Bug Fixes

Hello everyone,We're releasing this update to fix Lab Operator (LSD Worker) and some system issues. Lab Operator (LSD Worker) Rework:Lab operator reworked and can now assign as many Slug Extract Distillers as it needs to itself and its idle…

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Community AnnouncementsJul 23, 2026
Update 0.1.15 - Worker Fixes & QOL

Hello Everyone!We're releasing this update to fix worker issues and make your interactions with them smoother. New Features & ImprovementsReworked the work logic for Botanical Engineers and Weapons Technicians and idle reasons are now more …

Read our dispatch on this

Read this patch for

Community AnnouncementsJul 23, 2026
About Workers (Staffs)

Hello everyone! First of all, we'd like you to know that we read each and every one of your feedback messages and take them into consideration. ❤️ How Workers Operate There is one important rule for workers: Workers will try to use all the …

Community AnnouncementsJul 22, 2026
Hotfix For Non-friend players could join your room

-Fixed an issue where non-friend players could join your room.

Community AnnouncementsJul 22, 2026
Hot fix 0.1.13

-Minor bug fixes. -Acid dissolve effect fix

Community AnnouncementsJul 22, 2026
OUT NOW!

Hey Everyone!Dirty Business finally OUT NOW! Build your empire alone or team up with up to 4 friends in co-op, because crime is always better with partners. What's New Since the DemoWe've been hard at work since the demo. Alongside dozens o…

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Community AnnouncementsJul 21, 2026
LAUNCHES TOMORROW! (JULY 22, 2:00 PM UTC)

Hey Everyone! This is it! After months of work, Dirty Business finally launches tomorrow in Early Access, and it's coming with a 20% launch discount for 14 days! Build your empire alone or team up with up to 4 friends in co-op, because crim…