Can ‘Em All Can ‘Em All Guide: Endings, Achievements & All

In Can ‘Em All, unlocking every feature requires more than purchasing factory upgrades. Some features depend on specific story emails, while others involve hidden actions or resetting your factory.

I explain how to unlock weapons, processing machines, the Casino, factory selling, permanent upgrades, and the ending. I also cover all four hidden achievements and the important steps needed to complete the game.

All Unlocks, Secret Achievements and Endings

Can ‘Em All has 12 Steam achievements, including four hidden ones. This guide explains the main progression requirements, important unlocks, and actions needed to earn the achievements.

Spoiler Warning: This guide contains spoilers about hidden achievements and the game’s ending.

How to Unlock Weapons and Factory Upgrades

At the end of each day, I enter the elevator to access the Upgrade Tree. This is where I unlock new weapons, ammunition, machines, and improvements by progressing through the connected upgrade branches.

The Upgrade Tree includes several types of unlocks:

• New weapons and ammunition.
• Additional creature-processing machines.
• Conveyor belts and automated production systems.
• Turrets and other factory improvements.

I recommend prioritizing upgrades that increase can value, improve production speed, and unlock conveyor belts. Once I have a working automated factory, earning money becomes much easier.

Important: Always check that your conveyor belts form a complete connection to the selling tube. An unfinished conveyor route won’t automatically deliver the cans.

How to Unlock the Casino in Can ‘Em All

The Casino is unlocked through the game’s email system. I need to progress through certain weapon upgrades and story emails before I can access it.

Here is how I unlock the Casino:

1. Progress through the Upgrade Tree and unlock the Bat, Knife, and Pistol.
2. Continue working and advancing through the story emails.
3. After receiving the “Today’s Special” email, continue until the “Feeling Lucky” email arrives.
4. Open the “Feeling Lucky” email on the computer and click Accept.
5. The Casino button will become available.

Important: Simply unlocking or purchasing the Pistol doesn’t give me access to the Casino. I must accept the invitation from the “Feeling Lucky” email.

The Casino is optional and isn’t required for any of the 12 Steam achievements.

How to Unlock Sell Your Factory

I can’t sell my factory immediately, even if I’ve purchased a large number of upgrades. The Sell Your Factory option is unlocked by progressing through the company’s story emails and accepting a specific offer.

To unlock it, I follow these steps:

1. Continue progressing through the game’s story emails.
2. Unlock the Uzi to advance beyond the “When Money Was the Problem” email.
3. Unlock the AK-47 to receive the “Excellent Work” email.
4. Continue progressing until the company sends the “An Offer You Can’t Refuse” email.
5. Open the email and click Accept.
6. The Sell Your Factory option will now be unlocked.

Important: Purchasing every regular upgrade doesn’t automatically unlock factory selling. I still need to receive and accept the company’s offer.

Once I sell my factory, I begin a Prestige run and unlock the A Fresh Start Steam achievement.

All Hidden Achievements in Can ‘Em All (4/12)

Can ‘Em All has four hidden achievements that require specific interactions with creatures, processing equipment, and the transport tube. Here is how I unlock each one.

Not a Can

To unlock the Not a Can achievement, I throw a dead creature’s body directly into the transport tube instead of sending a can through it.

Fresh Meat

For the Fresh Meat achievement, I place a creature into the grinder while it is still alive.

Human Meat

I unlock the Human Meat achievement by jumping into the processing machine myself.

Special Delivery

To earn the Special Delivery achievement, I jump into the transport tube myself instead of putting a can inside.

Warning: Both Human Meat and Special Delivery end the current day. I keep this in mind before attempting either achievement.

Permanent Upgrades and Prestige

After selling my factory in Can ‘Em All, I can spend the Gears I earn on Permanent Upgrades. These upgrades provide bonuses that make my next factory runs easier, including increased damage, higher profits, faster production, and additional starting cash.

To purchase every Permanent Upgrade, I need approximately 530 Gears in total. Since some upgrades provide the same percentage bonus at different prices, I prefer to plan my purchases rather than spending all my Gears immediately.

All Permanent Damage Upgrades

Damage upgrades help me eliminate creatures more efficiently. Some provide a direct increase in damage, while others add critical hits, bleeding, or a chance to instantly kill enemies.

• Brute Force I (5 Gears): Increases my damage output by 100%.
• Brute Force II (10 Gears): Provides another 100% damage bonus.
• Brute Force III (20 Gears): Adds a further 100% damage increase.
• Brute Force IV (35 Gears): Grants another 100% damage bonus.
• Starting Shockwave (15 Gears): Improves the chance of triggering a shockwave that can instantly eliminate lower-tier creatures, saving me ammunition and time.
• Lucky Hits (20 Gears): Increases my critical hit chance.
• Damaged Delivery (25 Gears): Causes some creatures in each shipment to arrive already injured, making them easier to kill. I find this especially helpful against higher-tier creatures.
• First Blood (30 Gears): Adds a bleeding effect. I find it useful, although I haven’t found its impact particularly impressive.
• Death Touch (30 Gears): Gives me a chance to instantly kill a creature.

The four Brute Force upgrades cost 70 Gears in total. Since each one provides the same 100% damage bonus, I prefer buying them from cheapest to most expensive.

I also prioritize Starting Shockwave before Damaged Delivery. The shockwave can clear weaker creatures without using ammunition, making it particularly useful during regular factory runs.

For Death Touch, I prefer investing in reliable damage increases first. I leave the chance-based instant kill bonus for later, once I’ve purchased more consistent improvements.

All Permanent Profit Upgrades

Profit upgrades improve how much money I earn and how efficiently my factory processes creatures. These are the upgrades I use to increase income and keep production moving.

• Profit Boost I (5 or 10 Gears): Increases my profits by 100%. The exact price is uncertain.
• Profit Boost II (20 Gears): Provides another 100% profit increase.
• Profit Boost III: Adds another 100% profit bonus, although I don’t have the exact Gear cost.
• Profit Boost IV (70 Gears): Grants a further 100% profit increase.
• Grinder Speed (10 Gears): Speeds up the grinding process and frees the machines sooner, allowing me to process incoming creatures more efficiently.
• Luxury Cans (20 Gears): Increases the value of shiny cans.
• Shiny Shipment (25 Gears): Makes every creature in the first shipment of each day shiny, giving me a significant boost to daily earnings.
• Cold Storage (100 Gears): Preserves creatures that haven’t been processed by the end of the day, including any survivors, so they remain available the following morning.

The four Profit Boost upgrades each increase profits by 100%. Their combined cost is over 100 Gears, but I don’t have the exact prices for every level. As with Brute Force, I prefer purchasing the cheaper Profit Boost upgrades before the expensive ones.

Grinder Speed is one of the more useful early improvements for me. The game appears to limit how many objects can exist at once, including creatures piled inside grinders. Processing them faster helps clear space for new deliveries.

Between Luxury Cans and Shiny Shipment, I would choose Shiny Shipment first. Having the entire first shipment arrive shiny provides a much larger boost to daily income, while Luxury Cans feels less useful on its own.

My favorite upgrade in this category is Cold Storage. Instead of losing everything left unprocessed at the end of a workday, I can continue dealing with those creatures the following morning. For me, that makes it worth prioritizing despite its 100 Gear price.

Starting Cash and Movement Upgrades

There are also Permanent Upgrades that make restarting the factory more convenient or improve how I move around.

• Starting Cash I: Gives me additional money when beginning a new factory run. I don’t have the exact Gear cost for this level.
• Starting Cash II (25 Gears): Provides more starting money for my next run.
• Starting Cash III (50 Gears): Gives me a larger starting budget. From what I remember, this upgrade provides around $20,000 at the beginning of a run.
• Never Skip Leg Day (10 Gears): Reduces stamina consumption while running, allowing me to sprint for longer.

I particularly like the Starting Cash upgrades because they help me skip part of the slow early progression after resetting my factory. Starting Cash III gives me enough initial money to unlock several things much sooner.

Never Skip Leg Day is useful for moving around, but I consider it a low-priority purchase. Since obtaining unlimited stamina is relatively easy, I would rather spend my Gears on other upgrades first.

Best Permanent Upgrades to Buy First

If I’m deciding which Permanent Upgrades to unlock first in Can ‘Em All, my priority is Cold Storage. I like having everything left from the previous day available again instead of losing unprocessed creatures.

After Cold Storage, I generally work from the cheapest upgrades toward the more expensive ones. I focus on damage, profit, and production improvements before spending Gears on less consistent bonuses.

I leave Never Skip Leg Day, Lucky Hits, First Blood, and Death Touch until I’ve purchased most of the other upgrades. They’re still useful, but I get more value from the other bonuses earlier in my progression.

My Three Prestige Resets and Upgrade Order

Here is the order of upgrades from my second playthrough, showing how I distributed my Gears across three factory resets.

First Prestige Reset – Just Over 125 Gears

For my first reset, I had slightly more than 125 Gears available. I spent them on the following upgrades:

• Cold Storage
• Starting Cash I
• Brute Force I
• Profit Boost I
• Grinder Speed

Second Prestige Reset – 160 Gears

On my second reset, I had 160 Gears and purchased these upgrades:

• Brute Force II and III
• Starting Shockwave
• Profit Boost II
• Starting Cash II
• Shiny Shipment
• Luxury Cans
• Damaged Delivery

Third Prestige Reset – Over 275 Gears

By my third reset, I had accumulated more than 275 Gears. I used them to purchase all the remaining Permanent Upgrades. I hadn’t expected my Gear earnings to increase so quickly between resets.

Overall, I prefer starting with Cold Storage and then gradually purchasing the cheaper damage and profit upgrades. This approach worked well for me, while leaving the lower-priority bonuses until later resets.

Important Warning Before Completing the Ending

Before I finish the game, I make sure I’ve already unlocked the Casino and Sell Your Factory. This is especially important because reaching the ending changes how the game’s email progression works.

After discovering the ending, the game switches to a different email sequence. If I haven’t received the Casino or Factory Sale emails yet, this change can prevent those messages from appearing.

I recommend following this order:

1. Unlock the Casino by accepting the “Feeling Lucky” email.
2. Unlock factory selling by accepting “An Offer You Can’t Refuse”.
3. Complete the remaining achievements and purchase the permanent Prestige upgrades.
4. Discover the game’s ending after completing these steps.

What If I’ve Already Completed the Ending?

If I’ve already finished the game and the required emails never appeared, I may need to restore a save from before the ending or start a new game to complete the normal progression.

How to Unlock the Ending in Can ‘Em All

Can ‘Em All has an ending that I can unlock without selling my factory first. However, I need to complete the regular Upgrade Tree and purchase the final upgrade before I can leave.

Here is how I reach the ending:

1. Purchase every regular upgrade in the factory’s Upgrade Tree.
2. Wait until I receive the message confirming that I can repay my debt.
3. Unlock the final upgrade called Freedom at Last.
4. Save $666,666,666 and purchase the Freedom at Last upgrade.
5. Return upstairs and find the exit door that was previously locked.
6. Go through the exit and use the elevator to finish the game.

Important: Unlocking Freedom at Last in the Upgrade Tree isn’t enough. I must actually purchase the upgrade to receive the exit key and open the locked door.

Completing the ending unlocks the Freedom at Last Steam achievement.