InZOI: Everything We Know

If there was ever a time to cash in on the endless supply of stories that the likes of The Sims and Life by You have written by the boatload, then it’d be right now, during an era in which game engines continue to travel way beyond our wildest expectations, and possibilities are seemingly infinite. As luck would have it, such a game has already taken it upon itself to reap the benefits of said labor, and through its own efforts, will bring InZOI to a whole new generation of sandbox-loving gamers. In other words, The Sims ought to scoot over a smidgen; there’s a new fish in town.

At the time of writing, there’s still a great deal Korea-based developer Krafton has to touch base on, including the game’s storyline (if there is one, that is), as well as its advanced “photorealistic” features, to name just a couple. Needless to say that, from what we have caught of the project so far, it’s shaping up to be a bit of a stunner, and we’re excited to see more of it unravel over the course of 2024. Until it does arrive on its chosen platforms, however, here’s everything we’re able to tell you. Let’s jump right in.

What Is InZOI?

InZOI is a “photorealistic” life simulation game, and more importantly, an enormous sandbox that just so happens to tout endless possibilities and stories to carve from the comfort of your own home. If you’re thinking that it’s The Sims, but with a splash of Korean color drizzled over the top, then you’re probably right. However, where The Sims prioritizes a cartoon-like palette and fictional language, InZOI will instead cast its focus on delivering a lifelike experience—a picture-perfect simulation in which players will not only be able to toy with life, but be the God of an entire world, too.

On paper, InZOI strikes us as being a souped-up clone of Life by You, and understandably so. From the looks of it, the game promises all of the traditional sandbox trimmings and a huge amount of extracurricular activities and customizable components — three core nodes that anyone who’s ever so much as glazed the surface of a typical life simulation game will easily recognize. So, if you’re after something that’ll push the boundaries of the genre, and, dare I say, knock Electronic Arts from the throne, then you might want to consider chalking out a big ol’ circle around this one.

Story

According to the devs, players will be tasked with filling the boots of an intern at a mega corporation—a firm that allows its employees to essentially “play God” and control the folks of a neighborhood. As one of said employees, you will need to build a world that is not only functional, but also capable of evolving into a bustling community that’s more than an empty husk for textureless souls. In other words, you will need to throw your weight about a bit, if only to put your citizens on the right track.

Aside from all that, players will be able to develop their own stories, whether it’s by creating loving families, or putting a lone voyager through the ringer to become to the best of the best in their chosen career path — whatever that may be. There’ll be countless roads to pursue, and from the sounds of it, enough replay value to have fans starting from scratch time and time again.

Gameplay

For those who’ve bathed in countless hours of The Sims and other prominent life simulation games, InZOI will definitely feel close to home, as it’ll more or less adopt a lot of the same features and mechanics. For the record, that means being able to build your own homes, and manage your “Zoi”—an everyday citizen who can partake in hobbies, work outings, and countless other activities around their hometowns.

As with any sandbox game on the market, InZOI will offer an extensive range of customization options, which will of course allow you to tweak your characters’ personalities, traits, and life ambitions. There’ll also be an enormous catalog of set pieces, trinkets, pets, and furniture, from the looks of it. So again, you can definitely expect to get your money’s worth when the Zoi folk come knocking.

Development

InZOI is being developed by Krafton, a firm best known for PUBG Mobile, as well as its collaboration with global favorites including The Callisto Protocol, and Moonbreaker. With that said, it seems to be a bit of a change in direction for the South Korea-based studio, what with its earlier works being mostly action-oriented and what have you. Even still, Krafton, being the reputable company that it is, is more than capable of pulling off such a concept — so we’re hardly concerned about its future.

Trailer

Yes, there is a trailer for InZOI. And not just your bog-standard CGI teaser, but a full-fledged gameplay trailer that’s complete with all the trimmings, to boot. You can check it out for yourself in the embed above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

InZOI will be gearing up to release at the end of 2024, which means, with any luck, we’ll be seeing it arrive on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC at some point between October and December of this year.

Interested in staying up to date with InZOI? If so, then be sure to check in with the folks over at Krafton for all the latest developments via their official social handle here. If anything does change ahead of its late 2024 release, then we’ll be sure to patch through all the details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of InZOI when it arrives on its chosen platforms? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.