Gunmetal Games is preparing to pull its open-world video store simulator out of Early Access on August 27, marking the end of a roughly six-month development stretch that saw the game expand from a bare-bones demo into something considerably more ambitious.
Rewind 99 puts players in charge of the last video rental shop in town, competing against a streaming giant called RentNet that has set up across the street. The core loop involves ordering stock, managing customers, expanding the store, and hiring employees, but the game pushes well beyond simple retail management. Players can run underground fight clubs, gamble on scratcher tickets, install claw machines, and take on shady side hustles across a low-poly open city to keep the business afloat after hours.
The 1.0 release brings several features that were missing from the Early Access build. Co-op multiplayer now lets friends divide responsibilities and expand the store together. A film production system allows players to create and release original movies to compete with RentNet, turning the shop into something larger than a rental business. Gunmetal Games has also expanded the map with new areas to explore on foot or by scooter, added more unlockable side hustles, and increased the variety of retail goods and customer types.
What stands out about Rewind 99 is its commitment to being entirely human-made. Gunmetal Games has stated that every asset, illustration, and piece of marketing was created by real artists, a distinction that carries weight in an era of AI-generated content. The game’s low-poly visual style supports this approach, giving it a distinctive look that evokes late-’90s nostalgia without feeling cheap.
The studio plans to increase the price after leaving Early Access, so players who have been waiting for the full version will want to keep that in mind. Community feedback has shaped much of what the 1.0 build includes, with Gunmetal Games polling players through Discord and Steam forums on everything from store expansion mechanics to new side hustles.
Rewind 99 version 1.0 launches on Steam on August 27, 2026.
Dan Kowalski reviews games by listening to what they do before believing what they promise. He cares about responsive combat, purposeful sound design, satisfying movement, and whether a game respects the player’s time. Dan will forgive technical roughness when the underlying experience is exceptional. He will forgive almost anything for a brilliant combat system—but never a tutorial that refuses to stop talking.
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