How to play ROB RUN: the loop, the roles and the rules
A complete orientation for new players — what the game is, how a session works, and the five rules that decide whether you keep your loot.
ROB RUN is a free-to-play extraction-style crime sandbox. You start in prison, escape to Lenny’s Motel, and enter the city of Looty Bay as a civilian, a cop or a criminal. Rob, haul cargo, build a hideout and extract alive before the server’s seven-day cycle ends in a Federal Raid.
ROB RUN is a free-to-play, early-access online crime sandbox from Kefir where every cop and every criminal is a real player on a server that wipes on a weekly cycle. That sentence is the whole game. Everything below is how it plays out minute to minute.
What kind of game this actually is
The store calls it a brutal crime sandbox. Kefir also calls it an extraction shooter, and that second label is more useful for a new player: you go into a dangerous place, take what you can carry, and the loot only counts if you get out. The city is not a theme park you clear — it is a place other players are also working.
- Developer / publisher
- Kefir
- Release
- Early Access, 4 November 2026
- Price
- Free to play, cosmetic-only B-Coins
- Platform
- Windows PC via Steam
- Regions
- EU and East US
- Cycle
- Seven days per server, then a Federal Raid
- Party size
- 3
- Clan size
- 100
The first ten minutes
- Break out of prison You start behind bars. Talk to the Tattoo Artist, then use an escape point. The tutorial is built around the breakout, not around a shooting range.
- Meet Lenny at the motel Lenny’s Motel is the hub. It is also a safe zone where weapons are not allowed, which makes it the one place to regroup and find a crew.
- Rent a car The motel rents vehicles. You do not own one yet, and the city is not walkable at speed.
- Drive into Looty Bay Crossing the edge of a location opens the global map, where you choose a destination.
- Choose your role Kefir: the cop/criminal split happens in Looty Bay, and every time you enter you can pick a role or explore first.
The three roles and what death costs
| Role | What you do | If you die |
|---|---|---|
| Civilian | Explore, scout, trade, travel | Reported: you keep your inventory |
| Police | Stop criminals; paid from confiscations and arrests | Reported: you keep your inventory, but respawn timers grow |
| Criminal | Rob, haul, fight other criminals | Everything you carry can be looted |
Role death rules are community-reported except the criminal bag loss, which Kefir describes directly.
You become a criminal only when you put on a mask. Before that you are a civilian who can walk anywhere and look at anything. Leaving the city turns criminal mode off again.
What a session looks like
- Spawn at your base or the motel, take a loadout you can afford to lose.
- Travel to Looty Bay, scout a target unmasked.
- Mask up, rob, and manage the alarm.
- Extract from the city alive — this is the step that converts risk into money.
- Fence the loot, then launder the cash at your base.
- Spend or reinvest before the server’s seven-day cycle ends.
Five rules that decide your first week
- Extraction is the job. Loot in the city is not yours until you leave with it.
- The mask is a decision, not a costume. Every cop in the city can see a criminal; civilians are invisible to the role system until they act.
- Surrender beats dying. Police take your bag and leave your equipped gear.
- Cash is a liability until laundered. The Laundering Desk is the only real bank.
- The wipe is coming. Seven days per server. Build for the week, not for forever.
The three money systems you must understand
- Dirty cash — spend it at the Black Market or on Shipments, or launder it. Do not hoard it in your bag.
- Cargo — sell to the Smuggler for instant cash, or open at a Cargo Workbench for contents worth more.
- Bank credit — the protected layer. Fills from the Laundering Desk. Pays off Lenny’s debt.
Playing with other people
Parties cap at three, clans at 100. Kefir’s own FAQ says solo players will struggle in direct clashes against full parties — so the honest advice for a new player is to find two people before you find a rifle. The official Discord is discord.gg/robrun.
FAQ
What is ROB RUN?
A free-to-play, early-access online crime sandbox from Kefir. Every cop and criminal is a real player, and each server runs a seven-day cycle that ends in a wipe called the Federal Raid.
Is ROB RUN an extraction shooter?
Kefir describes it as one: you enter Looty Bay, take what you can carry, and the loot only counts if you extract alive. The store also calls it a crime sandbox.
Can I play ROB RUN solo?
Yes, but Kefir says solo players will struggle against full parties. Parties are capped at three and clans at 100, so finding a group is the strongest early upgrade.
How do I become a criminal?
Put on a mask. You stay a civilian until you do, which lets you scout the city safely first.
ROB RUN first hour: a route that ends with money in the bank
Sixty minutes, one robbery, one sale, one deposit — the fastest way to understand the loop without losing everything.
ROB RUN heists: the robbery loop without a body count
Mask, cameras, alarms, keys and exits — the quiet version of the loop that keeps you out of prison.
ROB RUN bank account: how money actually gets safe
There is no signup form. The bank account is the destination of the Laundering Desk — here is the real flow, and what it protects.