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When is the InZOI release date? The ‘next-gen’ life sim is the latest in Krafton’s stable, and it’s got the life sim community all a-flutter. While the South Korean company is most known for the likes of PUBG Battlegrounds and Dark and Darker, this time around, it’s got a potential successor to The Sims series on its hands.
InZOI joins Sims 4 competitor Paralives and Vivaland in their efforts to unseat EA’s genre-defining giant from its throne, though it appears to be striking in a very different direction from its peers. Instead of limitless customization or a stylized dream house, InZOI aims to turn heads with photorealistic visuals – a real first for life games. Do we have a Sims rival on our hands? That remains to be seen – for now, here’s everything you need to know about the InZOI following its early access release, including first impressions and a content roadmap.
InZOI release date
InZOI released in early access on Friday, March 28, 2025. It will remain in early access for “at least a year” according to the developer statement on the official Steam page.
InZOI is currently available on PC via Steam. Krafton is yet to confirm a console launch, but given the high graphical fidelity afforded by Unreal Engine 5, it’s a safe bet that it’ll only be available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
The developers also confirmed that InZOI runs on Steam Deck in a recent Discord Q&A, though this assessment comes with a few minor caveats.
Our InZOI roadmap will keep you up to speed with all the latest updates, including future content, new features, and DLC. The InZOI Steam reviews have been favorable since launch, with our own InZOI early access impressions dubbing it a “chaotic evil Sims rival” that’s “a vessel for self-made storytelling.”
The InZOI system requirements are fairly high given its photorealistic visuals, which might make it unsuitable for budget PCs. InZOI’s Denuvo has been removed from the early access build following community complaints.
InZOI guides
Now that InZOI is out in early access, we’ve got a few essential guides to help you get started in the life sim:
InZOI gameplay
InZOI made a standout appearance at Gamescom 2024, and we attended a hands-off InZOI preview that outlined Krafton’s ambitions for its inaugural life sim. Director Hyungjun Kim established the key pillars of the project: “playing your way, living by your own rules, and sharing your digital memories […] with your friends.”
InZOI’s gameplay will be familiar to anyone who’s had the slightest brush with life sims. Your main goal is to keep the people (or Zois) you create happy and satisfied by attending to their hunger, hygiene, and other basic needs – but as any Sims fan knows well, this is only scratching the surface of InZOI’s capabilities. The open-world game boasts many homes, workplaces, and other points of interest, and creating your Zoi is just the beginning.
Many of the hallmarks of everyday life, as popularized by The Sims, make an appearance in the InZOI gameplay trailer. The residents of InZOI sweep up broken glass, water their houseplants, and accidentally set fire to their ovens. They can also engage in their favorite hobbies, from playing a musical instrument to painting and dancing.
Naturally, work is a part of life, and there are plenty of employment opportunities for your Zois to aspire to. Whether that’s tapping away at a computer in a high-rise office block, washing dishes in the back of a takeaway restaurant, or mopping up the floors of the local convenience store. There’s even a brief glimpse of a Zoi undergoing basic training, performing push-ups in their barracks while their superior looks on.
Whether they actually enjoy any of these tasks is down to their aspirations and personality, though InZOI’s emotive mood system is a sure indicator either way. NPCs have a combination of over 300 personal values, preferences, and traits, which all affect their behaviours.
Producer Hyungjun Kim spoke to Korean streamer ‘Memolkim’ in an interview that covered many of InZOI’s upcoming gameplay features. He also revealed the ‘meta’ elements present in the life sim’s world. “The concept of InZOI is that you get to become a god,” Kim explains. “That’s why the world was sitting on top of that desk, where you are working as an employee.”
Kim points out that InZOI’s original map size had to be reduced because “it was too big and made it unplayable.” However, there’s still plenty of space to explore and put down roots, with three cities available in early access – including Bliss Bay, which takes inspiration from the boardwalks and sun-soaked Americana of Santa Monica.
These expansive maps come furnished with mechanics that will feel familiar to classic Sim City fans. One such adjustable setting is the City Safety Level, which determines the level of crime and general societal chaos that occurs in your city. “This also lowers the success rate of relationships,” Kim explains, as lower social stability affects the population’s mood and inherent trust in others.
You can even adjust the cat population density if you’d rather craft a feline utopian, or introduce zebra into the mix. Yep, we’re a bit stumped on that reveal, too — though this may hint that we can also expand our households to include InZOI pets as well.
Other features have since been revealed in a new developer roadmap interview released to the official InZOI Youtube channel. In it, Kjun Kim confirms some of the features taken from the ‘wishlist’ section of the official Discord are making it into the game, alongside other features proposed in-house. Among those suggested by fans include working cars, which Kim says “will not be like […] Grand Theft Auto,” but will let you climb into your car, drive sensibly, and have accidents.
In January 2025, Kim returned with even more planned features. These include the use of facial capture to streamline the create-a-Zoi experience, pet-related goodness, and a tutorial system for new players.
For a more extensive look at gameplay, check out the InZoi roadmap for an in-depth overview of all the major features in the pipeline, including cars and a choice-driven karma system. You can also find out whether Kjun believes InZOI is comparable to The Sims in our exclusive interview.
InZOI character customization
InZOI appears to be courting Krafton’s home market in its early gameplay trailers, showcasing in-game activities that align with Korean culture and lifestyles – such as stopping by a PC cafe for a few hours to play (what else?) InZOI or trying your luck at a claw machine arcade. The gameplay we’ve seen so far is also replete with East Asian representation, though the palette of 35 skin tones hints at a broader diversity in the character creator suite.
As you might expect, InZOI’s character creator has a wealth of hairstyles, outfits, and accessories to capture your Zois’ unique personality adequately. In a bizarre moment, the gameplay trailer displays a Zoi dressed up as the Joker. However, we imagine this is possible thanks to InZOI’s extensive character and outfit customization tools rather than any official collaboration with DC Comics.
People of all different ages appear in InZOI, and we can take control of and interact with babies, toddlers, and elderly Zois alike. “Babies didn’t just present a systemic challenge, but also a philosophical one,” Kjun told Ken in an exclusive InZOI interview.
InZOI build mode
InZOI’s build mode strongly resembles The Sims, offering an extensive catalog of items to construct and furnish your Zoi’s home. New walls, floors, and windows are just a few clicks away, and each room can be kitted out to your exact specifications.
“We have free mode as a base option,” Kim confirms. “If you hold shift as you move the object, you can move it wherever you like and stack it on another item if you want.” This news is a cause for celebration for those who rely on Sims 4 cheats such as MoveObjects to pose furnishings to their liking, though Kim clarifies that an object may be rendered interactable in InZOI depending on its placement. “There were so many things I wanted to do in [The Sims], but they always made it very difficult,” Kim says.
However, InZOI goes as step beyond the typical palette of preset colors and patterns by granting prospective interior designers the ability to generate an AI image via an in-game search prompt. Once developed, these images can be applied to decorative items – such as bedspreads and photo frames – to give houses a genuinely personal touch. Memolkim asks if Krafton would ever sell AI-generated textures as DLC. “No, we won’t,” Kim replies. Krafton later addressed InZOI generative AI following the demo’s release, stating that it is “built into the client.”
It’s also possible to mix and match various elements of specific furnishings, such as a chair cushion and legs, providing more diversification without the help of mods. If you’re not much of an interior decorator, don’t worry. Kim confirms that players rushing to get to the life sim aspects of InZOI can choose from a selection of build presets to create a complete house with just the click of a button.
The InZOI devs have confirmed that players will be able to create unlimited floors in build mode. It appears there will be two modes in the game: ‘Recommended maximum four floors,’ and ‘Unlimited Floors’, ensuring you have no limits when it comes to creating your perfect home.
InZOI cat
Of course, it would be remiss of us not to mention Psykhet, the adorable cat that appears in both gameplay trailers. However, it turns out that this cute little bundle of fluff is more than just InZOI’s mascot.
“This cat is your boss,” Kim reveals. “You have to get everything approved through the cat before you make any changes.” Psykhet seems to spend most of its time reclining on the desk beyond the bounds of InZOI’s world, though we do see it appear in the character creator and notifying your Zois via text (yes, really) of the latest neighborhood developments.
There’s still a lot we don’t know ahead of InZoi’s 1.0 release date, such as the potential for microtransactions and LGBTQIA+ representation, so be sure to check back regularly for all the latest announcements, news, and updates. In the meantime, check out some of the best games like Sims 4 if you’re looking for a new life sim experience. Alternatively, we’ve got information on the Sims 5 release date and Project Rene if you’re not prepared to give up on EA Maxis just yet.
