Anime Shop Simulator Shop Level Unlocks & Rank Titles
Shop level unlock table
| Shop level | What opens | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Opening tutorial: name the shop, buy your first product license on the computer, order stock, set prices and flip the sign to Open. | Video, 1.0 | Launch-day gameplay video (Sep 11) and three demo videos |
| 2 | The next product license and new shop areas such as storage become purchasable. | Demo | Three separate demo videos (Feb-Mar 2026) |
| 3 | The card game table for Arcanis battles appears in the furniture shop ($300 in the demo). | Demo | Demo video (Feb 2026) |
| 4 | A booster-box license costing about $700; one demo stream hired its first employee around here. | Demo | Two demo videos |
| 5 | E-Rank Shopkeeper achievement. Ordering furniture is gated until level 5 in the launch build. | Official + video | Steam achievement list; launch-day video (Sep 11) |
| 10 | First Naughty Shelf Pack license (3 manga, 2 dakimakura) for players who own that DLC. | Official | Official Naughty Shelf Pack store page |
| 11-16 | The baseball bat for thieves. It comes from an objective chain, not a fixed level: players name winning 5 card battles and an intercom request as steps. | Player reports | Three Steam forum reports that disagree on the level |
| 16 | Second employee slot, so one person can run the register while another restocks. | Player reports, agree | Four separate Steam forum reports |
| 20-24 | Option to rank an employee up from Junior to Regular once their XP bar is full. | Player reports, conflict | Two Steam forum reports (one says 20, one says 24) |
| 22 | Second Naughty Shelf Pack license (6 dakimakura). One player also reports a third employee slot here. | Official + single report | Official DLC store page; one forum report |
| 25 | C-Rank Shopkeeper achievement. | Official | Steam achievement list |
| 50 | A-Rank Shopkeeper achievement. | Official | Steam achievement list |
| 80 | S-Rank Shopkeeper achievement, the highest shop rank the game names. | Official | Steam achievement list |
Table checked:
Anime Shop Simulator has no in-game progression tree, so this table is assembled from Steam achievements, the official DLC pages, launch-week Steam forum threads and gameplay videos. Rows marked Demo come from videos of the February-May 2026 demo and may have moved in 1.0.
How far players have got
Steam's achievement rates show where the player base is. 46.3% of players have reached shop level 5 and 1.1% have reached level 25. Everything above that is at the 0.1% floor Steam shows. Achievements were not unlocking properly until Hotfix 1.0.3 on September 13, so these numbers will move up. Every achievement and its rate is on the achievements page.
Shop and storage expansions
Growing the shop is a separate purchase from leveling it. 43.7% of players have bought their first shop expansion ("Season 2 Confirmed!") and 34.3% their first storage expansion ("Storage Jutsu!"). Buying every expansion earns "Ultimate Store Form". A demo video put the first upgrade at $500. Once you have a storeroom, boxes kept on its shelves stop counting against your cleanliness bar, according to players on the forums.
Employees by level
You can hire one employee early; 52.0% of players have ("My Retail Academia"). The second slot opens at level 16. After that the reports split: one player says a third slot opens at 22, and the Junior-to-Regular rank-up shows up at level 20 for one player and 24 for another. The employees guide covers roles, boosting and the restocker crash.
DLC licenses
DLC items are unlocked like any other stock: you buy their license on the shop computer once your level allows it. The Naughty Shelf Pack store page lists its licenses at shop level 10 and 22. The Supporter Pack page says its exclusive dakimakura comes with Licence 7. That is a license number, and the page does not give a shop level. Prices and contents are on the price and DLC page.
Shop level FAQ
When do you get a second employee in Anime Shop Simulator?
At shop level 16. Four players on the Steam forums report the same level, and it lets one employee run the register while the other restocks. Until then you are the second cashier.
What is the max shop level?
The game does not show a cap. The highest rank it names is S-Rank Shopkeeper at shop level 80, from the achievement list. Nobody we can find has reported a level above that.
How do I level up my shop faster?
Levels come from running the shop, and in the videos they tick up while you serve customers, so keep shelves full and the register moving. Demo videos reached level 2 inside the first in-game day and level 7 within a few days. Launch-week players describe the climb slowing down a lot in the teens.
Why is there no progression tree?
There isn’t one in the launch version. Players asked for it on the Steam forums in launch week ("instead of having to hit invisible goals"), which is why this table exists.