This isnt the drug dealing simulator you are looking for
I had heard about Drug Dealer Simulator, but I never actually really paid attention to it until Schedule 1 gained prominence earlier in 2025. I jumped at the chance to check the game out for review when I heard about the Xbox launch. In DDS players will begin as a small-time dealer in an unnamed run-down urban area. Players will begin the game with a cartel contact named Eddie who will get the product for you to sell throughout the city. I just wish the game had a tad more polish for its graphics and systems.
The overall presentation honestly feels a little rough which is odd since DDS came out on PC in 2020, even though the Xbox version does include all of the updates and expansion the game has received on PC. Let’s start with the overall urban environment which feels much like those depicted in early 360 games. Lots of browns, greys and blacks as a color palate. Even on sunny days the game still felt like there was a haze on the world. However, the team does do an excellent job of making the area feel ‘lived’ in. As players roam around, they will hear radio chatter, music coming from buildings and a full day/night cycle.
MSRP: $22.49
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
Honestly my play time as been plagued with issues, the very first time I started as the game was explaining the systems to me; I had to go out in the city to talk to someone. Well, not a single person loaded into the world; I ran all around the unlocked area with music playing and the world looking lived in but never saw a single soul, only after a restart did it populate correctly, and I was able to progress. But one glaring issue with the DDS is the lack of direction on how to divide your product i.e. drugs.
When players place their orders with Eddie they will choose their gram amount, so if they order 10g of something that’s how it will come. In order to break it down to sell, players will need to use the table in their apartments, (which is all menu based) add product to a jar, and then they can divide it from there into sellable packages. The game will direct players to use the table, but never does it break it down step-by-step, so what followed was 15 minutes of me trying to figure out what it wanted from me.
At its core DDS is a business simulation, players will start off with a few products but will soon gain access to more and more things to sell. The city is broken up into areas and as players gain more customers in each of them, they will be able to unlock more and more of the city. Which allows players to buy safe houses throughout the city and even a mansion. Players will begin their climb up the criminal ladder by having to run around to deliver the drugs to all their customers, after they level up you will get dealers that you can supply, and they will do running. While the gameplay is fun at first, it really starts to wear thin by mid game. Sure, there is the threat of police or DEA agents busting you or finding your stashes; there is a stealth system that helps to sneak around to avoid getting busted but sometimes it didn’t work, and cops would see me in my shadowy hiding place.
One of the more interesting mechanics is the ability to mix drugs or cut in other substances to increase profits. The whole system requires careful balance because if a product is too pure it can lead to clients overdosing while the other side of the spectrum sees it has too much filler which will lose your business; either way you end up losing money, so you have to be careful. But the end game just feels like more of the same, as players won’t have anything else to really buy. Something like co-op would help to add a new element but players will have to wait for Drug Dealer Simulator 2 for that feature, which is a shame as Schedule 1 already has it in its early access state.
Drug Dealer Simulator is not going to appeal to everyone based on what its very game is. But those that do check it out will find a pretty competent business simulator that makes some missteps. Graphics feel dated and bland, there are a lot of menus to navigate, and the game is poor at explaining things. It just feels crazy because almost everything that DDS isn’t, Schedule 1 is. If you have an Xbox, then this is passable drug dealing experience and is worthy of your time until Schedule 1 makes its inevitable console debt that is.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
