The Sims players have had a packed 25-year anniversary. The anniversary celebrations included a new expansion pack for The Sims 4, a rerelease of The Sims 1 and The Sims 2, a massive update to The Sims 4 with dozens of new items, a timed event for The Sims 4, several new kits, and a 25-hour livestream. One overlooked announcement is a release window for Project Rene, which was announced several years ago.
While improvements to The Sims 4 are welcome, The Sims has been missing a new title for years. Instead, The Sims fans can look to a newcomer, InZOI, which is releasing in Early Access on March 27. InZOI is one of the first life sims to rise alongside The Sims in a very empty space, and so it's exciting to see if it'll prove to be good enough to compete with The Sims, which has dominated the life sim genre for decades.
The Sims 4 Lovestruck Should've Been a Game Pack
It's a few months since The Sims 4 Lovestruck came out and I've had time to play with it enough to realize that it should have never been a $40 expansion pack. When I played it on release, I felt like I went through most of the content pretty fast, and now that it's just another part of standard gameplay to me, it's clear that I barely use it, even the features that I liked the most, such as Cupid's Corner.
The Future of The Sims and Its Players
Many players assumed Project Rene was the code word for The Sims 5, a theory that was disproved in 2024 when EA announced its plans to continue The Sims 4 indefinitely, and with other The Sims games becoming spin-offs. Instead of The Sims 5, Project Rene would instead be a self-contained game that forms a part of The Sims franchise, but separate from The Sims mainline games. Since the announcement in 2024, there hasn't been any other news about Project Rene, even accounting for the 25-anniversary celebrations.
InZOI Arrives on March 27-28
However, there is another game in the life simulation genre that not only has news, but is due to release in Early Access. After months of anticipation, InZOI's Early Access launches on March 28, at the same price point as The Sims 4's expansion packs. While in Early Access, InZOI's updates will be free to all Early Access players, requiring only a one-time purchase of the base game. InZOI has a completely different art style and vibe to it than The Sims 4, offering players a refreshing new space in the life simulation genre.
All About InZOI
InZOI is the first of two life simulation games that have a chance to compete with The Sims 4 in a space that hasn't had any competition over the decades. Developed by Korean studio inZOI Studio and published by KRAFTON Inc, InZOI features ultra-realistic graphics and was created in Unreal Engine 5. Like The Sims 4, InZOI includes a robust character creator, allowing players to create any kind of person, called "Zois", that they can imagine.
As a life simulation game with a similar premise to The Sims, there is a lot of overlap between the two markets for The Sims and InZOI. Players who are fans of The Sims 4 might therefore get a kick out of playing InZOI, and seeing what it has to offer. InZOI doesn't have to replace The Sims but, instead, offers an additional game for players in a space that desperately needs one.
The Sims 4
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
- Released
- September 2, 2014
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox, PlayStation, and computer versions of Sims 4 are all separate games incompatible with each other
- Cross Save
- no
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
