Revision 9

Overview

inZOI Studio is an internal development studio within KRAFTON, Inc., the South Korean gaming conglomerate that also publishes PUBG: Battlegrounds, The Callisto Protocol, and other titles. The studio was formally established in early 2025 as a subsidiary with its own corporate structure, dedicated exclusively to developing inZOI as a next-generation life simulation game. It operates under KRAFTON's umbrella while maintaining creative independence over the game's direction.

KRAFTON founded inZOI Studio to give the project its own identity and leadership rather than housing it inside one of the company's existing teams. The studio shares KRAFTON's technical infrastructure, publishing network, and platform partnerships (including Sony for PS5, Apple for macOS, and NVIDIA for Smart Zoi AI technology), but the creative vision for inZOI is shaped internally by the studio's own leadership.

Director: Hyungjun "Kjun" Kim

The game's development is led by Hyungjun "Kjun" Kim, who holds the combined title of Producer, Director, and CEO of inZOI Studio. Kim brings over two decades of game development experience across multiple major Korean studios.

Kim has said the idea for inZOI came from playing life simulation games with his son. He wanted to build a game in the genre with modern graphics and AI technology. His MMORPG background at NCSOFT influenced the game's open-world city design and multiplayer ambitions. In interviews, Kim has described developing a life simulation of this scale as an "entirely new frontier" for the team, a challenge distinct from the competitive shooters and MMOs they had previously built.

At Gamescom 2025, Kim discussed the studio's approach to AI innovation and community-driven design, emphasizing that inZOI aims to push the boundaries of what NPCs can do in a simulation game. His prior experience on AION's living-world systems and PUBG's multiplayer infrastructure both informed the technical ambitions behind inZOI.

Team and Development Structure

inZOI Studio is staffed by industry veterans, though the team was described as relatively small during the game's initial development phase. This smaller size was intentional: Kim has stated that starting lean allowed the team to iterate quickly on core features and incorporate community feedback without the overhead of a massive production pipeline.

The 2026 Roadmap revealed that the studio runs two parallel development tracks. A core team handles the quarterly content updates that ship new features, careers, and gameplay systems every few months. A separate "Beyond" team works on longer-term features including modding support, multiplayer, AI-driven Smart Zoi NPCs, and Canvastown. This dual-track structure lets the studio deliver regular updates while investing in features that need longer development cycles.

Development Timeline

Communication Style

Kjun communicates directly with the community through the official inZOI forums and Steam, publishing personal letters under the "Brainstorm with Kjun" series. These letters are unusually detailed for game developer communications. They include quarterly feature breakdowns with specific items, honest assessments of what is and is not working, and clear acknowledgments when timelines slip.

The studio also maintains active social media accounts (@PlayinZOI), posts regular developer diaries covering in-progress work (such as the February 2026 animation smoothing preview), and engages in AMAs on the official Discord server. This transparent communication has been cited as one of the reasons the community remains engaged despite the typical frustrations of Early Access development.

Kim has expressed a personal philosophy about Early Access, saying in a 2025 PC Gamer interview that he "always feels sorry" for players testing an unfinished product. He framed the early access approach as unavoidable given the game's scope, but acknowledged that users are "testing it on our behalf" and committed to responding to feedback quickly.

The "Fundamentals First" Philosophy

In December 2025, Kjun introduced the "Fundamentals First" philosophy as the guiding principle for 2026 development. The idea is that adding new features is less valuable than making the existing core experience (jobs, building, simulation depth) work well. The first half of 2026 focuses on new content drops each quarter, while the second half shifts resources toward strengthening fundamentals like performance, AI behavior, and Build Mode polish.

This was a direct response to community feedback that the game needed depth before breadth. Rather than rushing to add dozens of new features, the studio committed to making careers, relationships, and daily simulation loops feel complete and satisfying before layering on additional content.

NVIDIA ACE Partnership

One of inZOI Studio's most notable technology partnerships is with NVIDIA. At CES 2025, KRAFTON showcased a Co-Playable Character (CPC) AI model built using NVIDIA's ACE (Avatar Cloud Engine) technology. This powers the Smart Zoi system, which uses a 0.5-billion parameter Mistral NeMo Minitron small language model to drive NPC behavior.

Smart Zois can adapt and respond to their environment based on their personalities. A considerate Smart Zoi might offer directions to a lost character or share food with a hungry stranger. At the end of each day, Smart Zois adjust their personal schedules based on their experiences. The feature requires a GeForce RTX GPU and is currently labeled as experimental. KRAFTON plans to expand CPC technology across its gaming portfolio.

Relationship to KRAFTON

KRAFTON, Inc. is a major South Korean gaming company headquartered in Seoul. Beyond inZOI, the company publishes PUBG: Battlegrounds, PUBG Mobile, The Callisto Protocol, and titles from globally recognized studios including PUBG Studios, Striking Distance Studios, Unknown Worlds, Neon Giant, and Tango Gameworks. KRAFTON went public on the Korean Stock Exchange in 2021.

KRAFTON provides inZOI Studio with publishing, marketing, and platform partnerships while the studio maintains creative control over the game's direction. Following the one-million-copy first week, KRAFTON committed to sustained investment in the game through Early Access and beyond the eventual 1.0 release. The company has positioned inZOI as a long-term franchise rather than a one-off release.