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Aging and Life Span Settings - Version 19 vs Version 20
Oct 29, 2026, 01:50 AM
Narrow family and age guidance to the confirmed source scope.
Oct 29, 2026, 02:37 AM
Correct image subjects, captions and unusable or branded illustrations.
11Overview22Aging in inZOI is automatic. Zois progress through nine life stages; the approximate durations in the table below sum to 82.5 in-game days, with the Senior stage varying in length. Stage transitions are described as instant, with body and available activities changing at age-up. The exact Child-to-Adolescent sequence in the older stage account remains unverified. The calendar added in v0.7.0 displays birthdays; use it to plan age-related events. Players have several tools to control aging speed: separate toggles for player and NPC Zois, a day length slider that stretches or compresses real time, simulation speed controls, and cheat commands that freeze aging entirely or prevent death.44Life Stage Durations66The approximate durations listed below sum to 82.5 in-game days. Treat this as the estimate produced by this table, not a guaranteed lifespan: the Senior stage varies. Changing the real-time day length changes the elapsed hours, not the table's in-game day counts.88ImageLife StageDuration (Days)CumulativeNotesNewborn11Can enter the household through pregnancy and other family-building routes; baby age groups were added in v0.10.0 to Create a ZoiToddler23Follows Newborn in natural aging; baby age groups are available in Create a Zoi since v0.10.0Child710Attends elementary school; develops child skillsAdolescent616Attends middle school; not selectable in Create a ZoiTeenager4.520.5Attends high school; can drive and dieYoung Adult929.5Full career, university, marriage, pregnancy accessAdult2049.5Longest stage; full system accessMiddle-Aged1665.5Full career access; no unique unlocksSenior~17~82.5Variable length; natural death from old age possible at any point1111Feature Unlocks by Life Stage1212Each life stage introduces or restricts specific gameplay features. The table below shows what becomes available at each transition.1414Life StageUnlocks and AbilitiesNewbornTraits assigned, family relationships formed, friendships possibleToddlerSkills begin developing, limited movement and interactionsChildValues continue developing after babyhood; elementary school, smartphone access, expanded interactions, random events; Ambitions selectable since v0.10.0AdolescentMiddle school; acts as a transitional stage between Child and TeenagerTeenagerHigh school, driving, can die from non-natural causes, business relationships; Ambitions since v0.9.0Young AdultAdult Ambitions, Desired Lives, university, full-time and part-time jobs, romantic relationships, pregnancyAdultUniversity graduation, all systems availableMiddle-AgedNo new unlocks; retains full Adult capabilitiesSeniorAutomatic retirement from careers; natural death from old age possible1616Create-a-Zoi Restrictions1717Not all life stages are available in the Create a Zoi character editor. The earlier baby restrictions changed in v0.10.0:1919Age groupDetailsNewborn and ToddlerBaby age groups were added to Create a Zoi in v0.10.0. Natural aging still takes a Newborn into the Toddler stage; the original one-day estimate is listed above.AdolescentThis transitional stage between Child and Teenager is not selectable. Adolescents only appear when a Child ages up.2121The original six directly selectable stages were Child, Teenager, Young Adult, Adult, Middle-Aged, and Senior. Baby age groups were added in v0.10.0 rather than remaining restricted to births in Live Mode.2222Physical Appearance Changes2424When a Zoi transitions between life stages, their physical appearance updates instantly. Body proportions, height, facial features, and skin texture all change in a single moment to reflect the new age bracket. Children grow taller when they become adolescents, teenagers develop more adult proportions upon becoming young adults, and seniors develop wrinkles and may show white or gray hair. There is no gradual transition; the body updates all at once. This instant change mirrors how games like The Sims handle aging up, though having nine stages (compared to fewer in many life simulators) makes each individual transition less jarring.2626School System2828School attendance is tied directly to life stages. Each school-age Zoi is automatically enrolled in the appropriate institution:3030Life StageSchoolNotesChildElementary School7 in-game days of attendance; develops foundational skillsAdolescentMiddle School5 in-game days; transitional educationTeenagerHigh School4 in-game days; last mandatory education stageYoung Adult+UniversityOptional; school, career and business can coexist since v0.8.0 if schedules do not overlap3232School schedules follow standard work hours. Zois leave home approximately 1 hour before their school day starts and return after classes end. Skipping school repeatedly can have negative consequences, similar to missing work in a career.3333Aging Settings3535Aging settings are found in Game Menu > Options > Simulation. Two separate toggles control aging independently:3737SettingWhat It ControlsAging (My Zois)Enables or disables aging for your actively played householdAging (Other Zois)Enables or disables aging for all NPC Zois in the city3939Both settings use arrow buttons to toggle between Enabled and Disabled. These options were added in the April 4, 2025 hotfix during Early Access. Before this patch, there was no way to disable aging through normal settings. The two toggles are independent, which enables several useful strategies:4040SettingDetailsFreeze your household, age the cityDisable aging for My Zois while keeping Other Zois enabled. Your family stays at their current stage indefinitely while the rest of the city continues to age naturally, keeping the world dynamic.Freeze everythingDisable both toggles to stop all aging citywide. Useful for sandbox play where you want unlimited time without any Zoi aging up or dying.Age only your householdEnable aging for My Zois but disable it for Other Zois. Your family progresses through life stages while neighbors remain fixed. Useful if you want to experience the full lifecycle without the city population shifting around you.4242Day Length4343The Length of Day setting controls how many real-world minutes equal one in-game day. It is found in the same Simulation tab as the aging toggles.4545SettingReal Time per In-Game DayReal hours for the table's approximate 82.5-day lifespanDefault48 minutes~66 hoursLonger selectable option96 minutes~132 hoursSlowest24 hours~1,980 hours4747Changing day length affects all time-based systems, not just aging. Career schedules, school attendance, seasonal transitions, and need decay rates all speed up or slow down with the day length. Shorter days mean Zois age faster but also have less real time to complete daily activities like going to work or leveling skills. Longer days give more breathing room per stage but mean each activity takes proportionally longer in real time.4848Simulation Speed5050Separate from day length, the simulation speed can be adjusted from 1x to 4x using the controls in the bottom-left corner of the screen. Higher speeds make time pass faster within the current day length setting.5252SpeedDescription1xNormal speed.2x to 4xProgressively faster; useful for waiting through work hours or sleep.5x and aboveDisables Zoi movement and autonomy. Only use for skipping large chunks of time.Pause (0)Fully pauses the simulation. Zois freeze in place and no time passes.5454When all household members are asleep, the game automatically advances at 30x speed (added in v0.3.0), fast-forwarding through the night until someone wakes up.5555Death From Old Age5757As of the April 1, 2025 hotfix (v0.1.3), only Zois in the Senior life stage can die naturally from old age. Before this change, natural death could occur at any adult life stage based on probabilistic calculations. The developers adjusted this because they felt it was important for players to have time to bond with their characters and fully immerse themselves in their stories.5959This rule applies only to natural death from aging. Non-natural deaths (fire, drowning, electrocution, starvation, sleep deprivation, car accidents, falling) can still happen at any life stage from Teenager onward. Children cannot die; if both parents die, children are sent to the Child Protection Agency.6161Cheat Commands6363Two cheat commands provide additional aging control. Open the console with Ctrl+Shift+C (cheats must be enabled first):6565CommandEffectstopAging trueFreezes all Zois at their current life stage; no one ages upstopAging falseRe-enables normal agingimmortalZoi truePrevents death entirely (both natural and non-natural)immortalZoi falseRe-enables death6767The stopAging cheat affects all Zois globally, unlike the settings toggles which separate player and NPC Zois. The immortalZoi cheat goes further by preventing all forms of death, not just age-related death. To change a specific Zoi's age directly, use the cheat console to access the age-change tool. This lets you set any playable Zoi or NPC to a different life stage, though it requires cheats to be enabled.6868Current Limitations7070LimitationDetailsNo per-stage duration controlYou cannot customize how long each individual life stage lasts. The day length slider scales all stages proportionally.Birthday trackingSince v0.7.0, the calendar displays birthdays. This provides an age-related date to plan around without requiring an exact numeric age counter.Birthday systemThe 2026 Roadmap previewed birthday celebrations; they shipped in v0.7.0. Zois advance after blowing out birthday candles or spending a birthday alone.Instant transitionsAging up is instantaneous. There is no gradual physical change; the Zoi's body updates all at once when the stage changes.7272Roadmap features and release status7373The 2026 Roadmap included several aging-related improvements under the "Fundamentals First" initiative. The table distinguishes released features from the remaining roadmap items:7575FeatureDetailsBirthday systemReleased in v0.7.0: calendar birthdays and age advancement after blowing out candles or spending a birthday alone.Per-family story progressionAdjustable intensity toggles for how quickly families develop.Childcare urgesNew timed urges for newborn, toddler, and child Zois were added in v0.7.0, creating new parenting situations.Expanded baby featuresHigh chairs and baby food shipped in v0.9.0. Strollers, changing tables, bathtubs and bouncers remain separate roadmap items in this list; do not infer their release from the high-chair addition.7777Tips7878If you want a long-lived Zoi without disabling aging, set the day length to the maximum (24 hours per in-game day). Each life stage will last many real-world days.Disable aging selectively: freeze your household while letting NPCs age. This keeps the world dynamic while giving you unlimited time with your main characters.Plan skill development around stage durations. Children have 7 days to max child skills. Teenagers have only 4 days before becoming Young Adults.The Senior stage is unpredictable. Save frequently once a Zoi reaches Senior age, as death can happen at any time.If you want the full lifecycle experience, start with a pregnant couple. The child will age through every stage naturally.Use the stopAging cheat for temporary pauses during important moments. You can re-enable aging afterward with stopAging false.