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Karma
February 10, 2026 at 08:00 AM
Full rewrite with karma mechanics, all karma-affecting actions, Karma Report details, city karma, ghost population percentage, Intervene function, Souls section, ghost town consequences, and resetKarma cheat
Karma is the moral ledger of inZOI. Every action a Zoi takes, good or bad, nudges their karma score in one direction. The developers describe it as the law of cause and effect. Good deeds raise karma. Antisocial behavior lowers it. The karma score has no direct gameplay effect during a Zoi's life beyond gating certain interactions (like rumor spreading). Its real impact comes at death: a Zoi's accumulated karma determines whether they pass peacefully to the afterlife or linger as a ghost.
Friendly conversations and positive social interactions
Helping other Zois with tasks or providing emotional support
Maintaining clean surroundings (proper trash disposal, cleaning)
Fulfilling responsibilities like paying utility bills on time
Participating in positive community activities and social events
Being a good parent or household member within the family
Fighting, threatening, or physically aggressive interactions with other Zois
Stealing money, robbing ATMs, or destroying vending machines
Discarding trash improperly (littering)
Sending mean or hostile text messages
Spreading rumors about other Zois
Selecting cruel or negative dialogue options in conversation
General antisocial behavior and property destruction
Karma changes are gradual. A single good deed or a single bad action does not dramatically shift the score. Sustained patterns of behavior over time determine a Zoi's karma level.
The karma status of an individual Zoi is visible through the Zoi Card icon (press [O]). The card shows the current karma level, which ranges from Terrible and Bad through Neutral to Good and Excellent. The exact numeric value is not displayed directly on the card, but the category label gives a clear indication.
The Karma Report is a more detailed view accessible through the game's information panels. It contains three sections:
Individual karma: The karma score and level for the active Zoi, showing their current standing.
City karma status: An aggregate measure of the moral health of the entire city. If most Zois in the city have good karma, the city karma is high. If many Zois have been behaving badly, the city karma drops.
Ghost population percentage: The proportion of deceased Zois who became ghosts instead of passing to the afterlife. This number directly indicates how close the city is to becoming a ghost town.
The Karma Report includes an Intervene function. This lets the player, in their role as the Creator (the godlike overseer of the simulation), directly influence a Zoi's behavior. Two options are available:
Encourage: Provide positive reinforcement to a Zoi, nudging them toward better behavior and potentially improving their karma trajectory.
Scold: Reprimand a Zoi for bad behavior, discouraging antisocial actions. This does not instantly change karma but can influence the Zoi's autonomous decision-making.
The Intervene function works as a soft influence rather than a direct karma adjustment. It affects the Zoi's behavior patterns over time rather than modifying the karma score immediately.
The Karma Report also contains a Souls section that tracks every deceased Zoi who became a ghost. Each entry shows the ghost's name, their karma level at death, and their current status. This section gives an overview of the city's supernatural population and helps the player understand which deceased Zois are lingering and why.
When a Zoi dies, their karma score determines what happens next:
Good or Excellent karma: The Zoi passes smoothly to the afterlife. No ghost is created. The death is a clean ending.
Neutral karma: The outcome is ambiguous. The Zoi may or may not become a ghost depending on the specific circumstances.
Bad or Terrible karma: The Zoi becomes a ghost. They linger in the world, unable to move on until their karma is restored through interactions with living Zois.
When the ghost population in a city grows too large, the city risks becoming a ghost town. Ghost towns have severe consequences:
New births are blocked. Pregnancies will not succeed.
New families cannot be formed.
The overall atmosphere of the city deteriorates.
To reverse a ghost town, players need to improve the karma of living Zois across the city and help existing ghosts ascend by restoring their karma to Good. This requires sustained positive actions across many Zois over an extended period.
The cheat resetKarma resets all Zois' karma levels back to neutral. This wipes all accumulated karma, good and bad, for every Zoi in the city. It does not affect existing ghosts but does reset the karma trajectory for all living Zois.
