Best Merchant Games

Highlights

• Players can pursue economic superiority as a non-violent path to victory in certain video games, allowing them to become successful merchants and traders.
• Games like Elona+, Elite Dangerous, and Black Desert Online offer satisfying mechanics for players to engage in the art of commerce and become the invisible hand of the market.
• These games provide a unique gameplay experience, emphasizing the excitement and challenge of trading and maximizing profits in vibrant in-game economies.

A different kind of conquest awaits those in video games who prefer to win not through violence, but through economic superiority. After all, why kill one’s enemies when one can just buy them instead? Money makes the world go round, and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing the numbers rise, instead of the pile of bodies, which is bad for business.

For that matter, some players might want to take the chill pill and engage themselves in the art of commerce. It just so happens that certain games allow players to flex their economic know-how in ways that make trade and mercantilism more interesting than saving the world through violence. Whether as a traveling merchant or a business magnate, these games allow players to become the invisible hand of the market.

Updated on February 4, 2024 by Ritwik Mitra: Most players would prefer to enjoy their wildest power fantasies in the video games of their choice. Whether it be gunning enemies down, smacking them with their weapons, or using magical powers to blast foes into oblivion, the sheer number of ways games enable these amazing power fantasies are endless. The last thing players would expect is for a game to let players become merchants, which doesn’t sound all that appealing. However, there are many games where the simple act of trading becomes one of the most exciting things players can do, which is a testament to the excellent gameplay loops present in these titles.

15 Elona+

An Open-Ended Game With Limitless Potential Where Players Can Do Almost Anything Imaginable

• Platforms: PC, Android, iOS
• Release Date: August 31, 2007
• Developer: Noa

A roguelike sandbox RPG with an incredible gameplay loop, the open-ended nature of Elona+ is easily one of its strongest aspects. The sheer number of things that players can accomplish in the base game was already quite extensive, and this enhanced edition has so many things players can do that it can feel downright overwhelming at times.

Being a merchant is just one of the many things players can accomplish in this game, with the mechanics here being just satisfying enough for players to get invested in. Of course, given how broad the mechanics of Elona+ are, it won’t take long for players to either start a new playthrough or change the setup of their character to focus on something else instead.

14 Elite Dangerous

A Legendary Space Sim Where Players Can Become A Successful Intergalactic Trader

Elite Dangerous is a game with a massive learning curve, to the point where a lot of players will give up on the experience after a few hours. This is a shame, since Elite Dangerous has the potential to be something incredible if players spend the time required to understand what makes this game tick.

There are many acts that players can perform while flying around in their spaceship, and one of the simpler ways to earn a living in Elite Dangerous is to become an intergalactic trader. This may seem simple, but players must go through their fair share of hurdles and the like before they can really start raking in the credits.

13 Black Desert Online

Most MMORPGs Let Players Trade Efficiently, And This One Is No Exception

Black Desert Online is a handful of a game and some players even consider it a second job due to how much time and attention it demands from players. One of its many busy activities is being a literal trader. Players get to buy and sell goods to and from faraway places with their own horse-drawn wagons.

That’s just one of the many ways to earn a decent amount of in-game currency in Black Desert Online. If players also have a ship, they can opt to barter in the many distant ports in the game; with the size of the game’s map, it might as well be a merchant’s playground.

12 Starsector

A Complex Space Sim Where Trading Is Just One Of The Many Things Players Can Do

Starsector is a space-faring game with simple graphics but don’t be deceived by the apparent comfort that it brings; this title is one of the most complex space sims ever made. But to cut to the chase, yes, players can indeed roleplay as a wandering space merchant here.

They can even manipulate and corner the black market depending on the amount and rarity of the goods they sell. The in-game economy is alive and organic, meaning players with a decent grasp of economics can make a profit and even commit to just being an in-game merchant.

11 EVE Online

A Legendary MMO Set In Space With Many In-Depth Systems, Including Trading Goods For Profit

While it’s well-known for its epic space battles consisting of thousands of players, EVE Online‘s underrated aspect is its player-driven economy. It’s what fuels the players in their endeavors be it amassing an armada or running a space business. Players can certainly be roving traders here in their very own space vessels.

The simplest way to do this is by buying low in one region and selling high in another region. If players want something higher risk and higher reward then they can also enlist in some 0.0 Space Trading where they can get robbed by other players while carrying some valuable cargo. Pretty intense as far as merchant life goes.

10 Kenshi

A Freeform RPG Where Players Can Do Everything Imaginable, Which Includes Becoming A Merchant

Kenshi isn’t unlike EVE Online or Black Desert Online. The setting is merely different and a bit more bizarre. It’s a free-roaming squad-based RPG in a setting that can only be best described as Australia, complete with acid rains and giant spiders.

Sure enough, players can be traders by also buying low and selling high in different regions. The danger here is ten-fold since players and their poor caravan can get attacked and even enslaved by other players who are having too much fun with banditry and godlessness.

9 Trader Life Simulator 2

As The Name Suggests, Players Step Into The Shoes Of A Trader And Try To Enjoy A Successful Career

A sequel to the popular indie game, Trader Life Simulator 2 is an upgrade of its underrated predecessor. There’s not much role-playing involved here as players merely run a shop that they must turn into a supermarket by, of course, buying and selling.

There’s a huge variety of things to buy and sell in this game and they’re usually the stuff that one can find in supermarkets. If players are looking for a Walmart manager simulator except with a prettier store than Walmart, then this game might scratch that itch.

8 Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord

A Medieval Action RPG With Open-Ended Gameplay Where Being A Merchant Is Quite Viable

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord is the belated sequel to the legendary and one-of-a-kind medieval sim RPG, Mount & Blade. It’s about as expansive and complex as the previous games but with the added benefit of upgraded graphics and more refined systems.

Among these systems is a gameplay mode or mechanic that lets players avoid the ridiculous feudal power struggle and just focus on being a roaming merchant caravan or trader instead. It still lets players win and conquer the whole game world if they get rich enough to buy territory or cities. The game is also highly-moddable, further adding to its intricate systems and mechanics.

7 Caravan

Become The Leader Of A Merchant Caravan In The Arabian Peninsula

For those who fancy the trader lifestyle but with a fairy tale background similar to some vocations in the Arabian Nights, Caravan will sate the players’ need for a roving merchant lifestyle. It’s also a story-driven game with some solid trade simulator mechanics.

As part of a merchant caravan seeking to make riches, players will have to traverse deserts and many other perils in uncharted territories to bring goods to their customers. The game is heavily based on the Arabian Peninsula while also borrowing some themes and esthetics from the countries spanned by the Silk Road.

6 Dawn Of Discovery/Anno 1404

Commerce Is The Name Of The Game, And Naval Trade Is Imperative To Helping A City’s Economy Boom

Also known as Anno 1404, Dawn of Discovery is one of the series’ most impressive entries. Like most other Anno titles, this game is first and foremost, a city builder where players set up production buildings and keep their population happy to produce goods.

Players can then trade these goods to other civilizations or factions in a rather expansive network of naval trade and commerce. So in a sense, Dawn of Discovery is also partly a naval commerce simulator on top of being a city-builder. The best part is that it’s set during the infancy of the Renaissance period when trade and naval technology were booming fast.

5 Capitalism 2

The Name Of This Game Makes It Clear Just How Important It Is To Conduct Efficient Trade

Capitalism 2 probably doesn’t need much explanation for a lot of players. It’s a game about getting rich through market manipulation, business deals, and production streamlining. It’s an in-depth strategy game that covers the multiple aspects and facades of running a business empire.

The game is old, however, since it was released a solid two decades ago. But it stands as one of the most comprehensive business simulations in the video game industry. A few games managed to capture the scope and care that Capitalism 2‘s developers put into being a digital capitalist.

4 Evil Bank Manager

A Business Sim Where Morals Take A Backseat As Players Strive To Become The Most Successful Capitalist Around

Evil Bank Manager takes the mercantilism aspect a step further past the boundaries of ethical and moral concerns, as is implied by the title. In this business sim game, players have the goal of accumulating as much fiat currency value as possible either by printing money or becoming a Federal Reserve.

Getting there is never a clean climb as players will have to conspire, scheme, and manipulate their way into becoming the wealthiest capitalist in the world through banking. If they become rich enough, then players can also start developing their own technologies or maybe even send a car or a rocket into space just because.

3 The Guild 2: Renaissance

Combines A Bunch Of Genres, Letting Players Construct Robust Cities And Engage In The Art Of Efficient Trade

The Guild 2 might just be the perfect companion to Dawn of Discovery. While that game is a top-down city-building trading sim, The Guild 2 is an immersive medieval sim that is also set sometime during the Renaissance. Players are free to choose whoever they want to be in this rather turbulent era.

The Renaissance expansion will broaden the players’ horizons as it adds even more professions or life paths, allowing players to become fully-fledged merchants with their own means of production. At a decade old, the game is heavily outdated in terms of visuals and mechanics but not many can match its scope and ambition when it comes to letting players become medieval merchants.

2 Merchant Of The Skies

Roaming The Skies And Trading Is A Gameplay Loop That Never Ceases To Be Engaging

Merchant of the Skies offers a breathtaking new kind of scenery as far as trading games go. Because players get to travel the skies as their trade routes. Not many merchant-based games can offer that kind of experience. But of course, the goal has always been to make the business thrive.

This pixel art game is all about letting players build their very own trading company in the clouds to cater to aerial cities. It’s also an indie game, meaning it has free reign to choose whichever creative direction it wants to take and this shows in how Merchant of the Skies defies or combines a lot of genres.

1 X4: Foundations

An Open-Ended Space Simulation Game Where Players Can Be Everything, Including A Space Trader

X4: Foundations has a suggestion better than clouds: space! It’s the final frontier for mankind and thus, the perfect setting to establish a trading empire. X4: Foundations is mostly a universe simulator game, but players can assume a more merchant-focused role with their space vessels.

To that end, it’s like the space-age version of Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord which is always a welcome amalgam of genres. The game does allow players a surprisingly vast number of different life paths, they can be a space conqueror, explorer, pirate, or just a humble merchant.