The short answer
Licenses control how the repair shop expands. When the game introduces a repair type, device, or related business option that you cannot yet use, the license shop is one of the first places to check.
Buy the license that serves a job you expect to perform soon. Do not spend every available coin collecting licenses while an accepted repair still needs a replacement part.
Step by step
1. Identify what is actually locked
Write down the device, repair type, or purchase option that is unavailable. A license can be the gate, but it is not the only possible reason for a blocked job. You may also lack cash, a required part, a tool, or a completed interaction.
2. Open the license shop
The illustrated launch guide shows the license store, and current-version gameplay around the one-hour point shows the purchase flow in use. Match the locked business need with the wording shown in the shop. Use the game’s English label, not a translated guess.
3. Check the cost against active work
Before buying, reserve money for:
- replacement parts required by accepted jobs;
- delivery or operating costs you already know are coming;
- a small buffer for a diagnosis that reveals another missing part.
The best license for your shop is the one that opens useful near-term work without making current work impossible to finish.
4. Buy and confirm the change
After purchase, return to the previously locked area and confirm what changed. This before-and-after check is more reliable than assuming every license unlocks the same number of items or repair categories.
5. Track the long-term achievement separately
Steam’s official achievement list confirms a goal for obtaining all licenses. It does not publish the total. Two current secondary guides disagree—one reports 20 and another reports 21—so the safe launch-build answer is simply to follow the in-game list rather than an external total.
When a license does not fix the block
Check this sequence before treating the situation as a progression bug:
- Confirm the correct license appears as owned.
- Recheck the job requirements and the relevant shop category.
- Confirm the necessary part or tool is available.
- Finish any pending delivery or customer conversation.
- Compare the symptom with the developer’s current known-issues notice.
A missing license is one possible cause, not a universal explanation for story or shop progression problems.
What not to assume
- Do not rely on a total of 20 or 21 until the game or developer confirms it.
- Do not publish a full price table without checking every launch-build shop screen.
- Do not treat one fixed license order as optimal for every player’s job queue.
- Do not assume every stuck story event is caused by a missing license.
Sources
- Official Steam achievements — confirms the all-licenses goal without stating a total.
- Kleynce’s illustrated 100% guide — shows the license shop in the launch build.
- Skoottie’s launch-version playthrough — shows a license purchase around 1:00:00.
- Into Indie’s beginner guide — independently describes licenses as part of business progression.