Player guide
Updated 10 September 2026
Profit City is an economy game about a city that runs on a clock. Every 2 minutes a tick happens: businesses produce goods, the market recalculates prices, and staff get paid. Here is everything you need to start confidently.
Getting started
Pick an industry and open your first business — you start with seed capital. Farming and raw materials are the cheapest way in; finished goods cost more but bring higher revenue.
Hire staff: without people the workshop stands still. Buy raw materials — they are consumed to make goods. Then wait for the tick.
How a tick works
Every 2 minutes each business with people and materials puts goods into its warehouse, and wages for the shift are taken from your balance.
A shift lasts eight ticks, after which staff rest until shifts reset. You can cut the rest short for profits — the "treat your staff" option.
If there is not enough money for wages, staff work unpaid for a while and then start leaving. The game warns you in advance when a purchase would leave you short.
Market and prices
A product’s price in a district depends on supply and demand. Supply is what players are ready to sell plus the city’s own deliveries; demand grows along with the number of businesses in the district.
You can sell into any district, but delivery elsewhere eats part of the revenue. A full warehouse stops production — hoarding goods does not pay.
Orders
The city posts orders above market price: filling one pays better than simply selling a batch. An order is taken with a single button and can be shipped in parts.
At higher stages bundle orders appear: the city asks for goods from several industries at once and accepts them only in full.
Business levels and your stage
A business grows through levels: shop, workshop, factory, plant, network. Each level raises the output cap, the staff limit and the number of warehouses. After an upgrade comes construction — from a few hours to two days.
You grow through stages, from novice to an influential figure in the city. The requirements are lifetime earnings, reputation, completed orders and invited partners. A stage raises the limit on how many businesses you may own.
Staff experience grows with every shift worked and raises output. New hires dilute the team, so it pays to grow the staff gradually.
Profits
Profits are the premium currency. You earn them for invited partners and some awards, and you can buy them in the store.
Profits sell speed and convenience: skip the pause before opening a business, extend a shift, add a business slot, buy a title or a crown in the leaderboard. They cannot buy coins, goods or reputation.