SCUM Trader Economy: EconomyOverride.json Explained

SCUM's traders are not hard-coded. Prices, stock, restock timers, trader funds and the fame points needed to buy anything are all driven by one JSON file that sits beside ServerSettings.ini, and Gamepires' own server tutorial describes it as the file where "you are able to adjust the prices of items and services at the traders in safe zones".

Checked against SCUM 1.3.3.4.149664 (11 September 2026)

Key names below are taken from Gamepires' own economy documentation and from the file a SCUM server generates on disk. Check the filename in your own folder before editing: Gamepires' server tutorial calls it EconomyOverride.json, which is also what installs we have inspected generate, but the June 2026 patch notes refer to the same file as economy.json. Whichever name your build uses, it is in SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/.

The shape of the file

Everything lives under one economy-override object, split into global settings and a traders block:

{
  "economy-override":
  {
    "economy-reset-time-hours": "-1.0",
    "fully-restock-tradeable-hours": "2.0",
    "trader-funds-change-rate-per-hour-multiplier": "1.0",
    "traders-unlimited-funds": "0",
    "enable-fame-point-requirement": "1",
    "traders":
    {
      "A_0_Armory": [
        {
          "tradeable-code": "BP_Weapon_AK47",
          "base-purchase-price": "-1",
          "base-sell-price": "-1",
          "delta-price": "-1.0",
          "can-be-purchased": "default"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

Note that every value is a string in quotes, including the numbers. That is unusual for JSON and it is the single most common reason an edited file fails to load.

Global settings

These are Gamepires' own descriptions, from their economy post:

A negative value means "never" for the timer keys — Gamepires note that for economy-reset-time-hours, "if the value is less than 0 it never resets". That is not the same as -1 in ServerSettings.ini, where it means "use the default".

Generated files on current builds also carry keys Gamepires have never documented individually, including traders-unlimited-stock, tradeable-rotation-enabled, the tradeable-rotation-* timing pair, and a set of gold-* price keys. Leave anything you do not have a documented meaning for at its generated value.

Traders are keyed by sector

The traders object is not a flat list. Each entry is an outpost sector plus a trader type:

A_0_Armory    B_4_Armory    C_2_Armory    Z_3_Armory
A_0_BoatShop  B_4_BoatShop  C_2_BoatShop  Z_3_BoatShop
A_0_Mechanic  B_4_Mechanic  C_2_Mechanic  Z_3_Mechanic
A_0_Trader    B_4_Trader    C_2_Trader    Z_3_Trader

SCUM's 225 km² island is divided into a lettered and numbered grid — A0 through Z4 — and the four trading outposts sit in sectors A0, B4, C2 and Z3. A_0_Armory is the Armory at the A0 outpost, and an entry placed there changes that trader only. Newer builds add further trader types at the same outposts, so read the key list your own file generates rather than assuming four per sector.

An empty array is normal

A freshly generated file has every trader present with [] next to it. That is the file telling you the trader exists and you have overridden nothing there yet. Delete the trader key and you lose the slot to write into later.

Per-item entries

Each item in a trader's array uses the same five fields, quoted verbatim from Gamepires:

delta-price is the one worth understanding. Leave it at -1.0 and the displayed price drifts with the game's own randomisation. Set it to 0 or above and that item's price is frozen — useful if you want a fixed economy rather than a simulated one.

The item code is the same blueprint name the spawn commands use, so #ListItems <string> in-game is the fastest way to find one. See SCUM admin commands for that command set.

Fame points gate the traders

Fame is what SCUM uses to decide whether a player may buy something at all. Gamepires' fame rework post puts it plainly: "the prisoner can't purchase anything at the trader without fame points" and "item availability depends on number of fame points".

Two controls sit in the economy file:

• "required-famepoints" on an individual item — "the default is -1 and it will set the fame points requirement to default values, users can change that to what ever number they prefer".
• "enable-fame-point-requirement" globally — 1 requires fame to purchase, 0 turns the requirement off entirely.

Fame no longer pays for respawns

A lot of older guides still describe fame as respawn currency. That changed in 2022: "Random and sector respawn will be now paid with credits… Shelter respawn will be now paid exclusively with gold." Respawn pricing now lives in the [Respawn] section of ServerSettings.ini, not in the economy file.

Admins can set fame directly with #SetFamePoints <Value> <Player>, #SetFamePointsToAll <Value> for everyone online and offline, and #SetFamePointsToAllOnline <Value> for connected players only.

What changed in 2026

SCUM 1.3.0.0 in May 2026 began tying availability to player behaviour: "item availability will be directly tied to the trader's stock, meaning some items will only be available to purchase if players have previously sold them." Generated files carry a matching global-only-after-player-sale-tradeable-availability-enabled switch and a per-item available-after-sale-only field, though Gamepires have not published a description of either.

The same cycle saw ordinary price rebalancing — the June 2026 hotfix raised Laika and WW vehicle prices, which Gamepires described as "way too low" — so a file copied from a 2025 server may be fighting the current defaults.

Common Questions

Where is the economy file on a SCUM server?

SCUM/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/, alongside ServerSettings.ini. Reach it in the File Manager on your SCUM server or over SFTP.

How do I give traders unlimited money?

Set "traders-unlimited-funds" to "1". Gamepires: "trader funds will never deplete when players sell tradeables to them." It is the usual fix on a server where players complain a trader has run out of cash.

How do I make everything cheap?

There is no global price multiplier in SCUM's documented economy keys. Prices are set per item with base-purchase-price and base-sell-price, so a cheap server means a list of entries. Start with the items your players actually buy rather than the whole catalogue.

Do economy changes need a server restart?

Yes. The file is read when the server starts. Restart from the panel, or use a scheduled task to apply it at a quiet hour.

Why did my economy edits break the server?

Almost always JSON syntax. Every value must be a quoted string, and a single missing comma stops the file loading — Gamepires shipped a hotfix in June 2026 for exactly that, "a missing comma in economy.json… which could cause issues for players modifying traders". Run the file through a JSON validator before restarting.

Can I turn the economy off completely?

Yes, with "enable-economy": "0", which Gamepires describe as disabling the economy and trader spawning. The outposts remain; the traders do not.

What to Read Next

• SCUM Server Settings: How ServerSettings.ini Works — the [Respawn] prices and every other setting in the main file.
• SCUM Loot Configuration: How to Change What Spawns — the other half of item availability, in the Loot folder.
• SCUM Whitelist, Priority Slots and Bans — the list files that decide who reaches your traders.
• SCUM Admin Commands and AdminUsers.ini Setup — #SetFamePoints, #ListItems and the rest.
• How to create a backup — take one before your first economy edit.

Made with 💜 by GameServerKings