When it comes to engrossing, addictive life simulators, The Sims has been unchallenged for a very long time. In just a few days though, a genuine rival will drop. Krafton’s InZOI looks to challenge The Sims’ crown, and while there’s been plenty of interest in it up until now, the appetite for this life game has just hit new levels. In the course of just a few days, it has leapfrogged three huge upcoming games to reach the very top of Steam’s wishlist charts.
While it ignores some of the more absurd moments of The Sims in favor of a life game experience that’s slightly more grounded, and offers realistic graphics too, InZOI looks set to be just as huge in its scope. With an incredibly detailed character creator, physical and mental needs to attend to, relationships with other Zois to nurture, house building and decoration, and more, it’s got all the necessary weapons in its arsenal to go toe to toe with the genre’s long-ruling king. As our recent InZOI preview attests, some pretty extraordinary chains of events can occur when trying to manage your Zois through the trials and tribulations of life.
However, it also aims to trump The Sims with a remarkable array of tools for gameplay customization and user-generated content. The cities you play in can be modified to be clean and tidy metropolises or post-apocalyptic wastelands, the weather can be changed, and even details like the amount of trees can be tweaked. A mobile app allows for facial capture that you can apply to Zois, and motion tracking software can be used to create custom animations and emotes.
Most controversially, in-game generative AI will let you create custom textures and assets simply from text prompts. The amount of customization and manipulation you can achieve without strictly using mods is wild.
All of this has led to high levels of excitement for InZOI, and while last week it was sitting in fourth position on Steam’s wishlist charts, the recent flurry of previews and its free demo (which lets you try out its Zoi creation and construction tools) has seen it fly up to very top. InZOI is now the most wishlisted game on the platform.
With this huge shift, it has leapfrogged three huge upcoming PC games – the co-op spinoff to one of the best games ever made, Elden Ring Nightreign; Valve’s popular but technically unreleased MOBA shooter Deadlock; and the elusive Hollow Knight Silksong.
This is a massive achievement, and one that comes just in time ahead with the InZOI release date just days away. It’ll be interesting to see how long-time Sims fans get on with it, whether its use of generative AI is well-received, and what kind of player counts it’ll attract when it does go live.
InZOI is launching in early access on Friday, March 28. Until then, take a look at the InZOI system requirements to make sure your PC is up to the job. Or if you love the construction and interior design aspects of life sims, check out some other great building games.
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