Revision 17

Overview

The Karma system is one of the most distinctive features in inZOI. It tracks the moral trajectory of every Zoi through a seven-tier scale, from Best to Terrible, based on the actions they take throughout their life. Karma influences how other Zois treat you, what dialogue options are available, your career prospects, and even what happens to your Zoi after death. The system operates on both an individual and city-wide level, meaning the collective behavior of all Zois in a city can affect the entire community.

A separate Reputation system based on local communities is planned for 2026. While Karma reflects a Zoi's internal moral path, Reputation will measure how the outside world perceives them.

How Karma Works

Every Zoi has a personal karma tracker that starts at Normal (the neutral midpoint). As the Zoi performs actions throughout the day, their karma shifts up or down. Good deeds push karma toward Best; harmful actions push it toward Terrible.

Karma changes are marked with colored indicators in the interaction menu: blue for good karma actions, red for bad karma actions, and purple for neutral actions that do not affect karma. You can tell at a glance what kind of karma impact a given interaction will have by checking the color of its icon before selecting it.

Karma System Details

You can view your Zoi's current karma status on the Zoi Card (lower-right corner of the screen, above the Meow Store button). A more detailed breakdown is available in the Soul Management Report in the game menu.

The more a Zoi's karma slides in one direction, the more interaction options open up that match that alignment. A Zoi with high karma unlocks additional friendly and encouraging options that make other Zois like them more. A Zoi with low karma gains access to crueler actions such as picking fights and shoving people to the ground. This gradual escalation means the system rewards commitment to a particular moral path rather than allowing instant access to every interaction.

v0.4.0 Changes

The v0.4.0 update (October 2025) merged karma interactions into the general interaction menu rather than a separate category. The visible karma score and karma icons on conversation options were removed from the UI, and the "Zoi Karma Status" section was removed from the Karma Report. The developers acknowledged that the presentation needed reworking and committed to rebuilding the karma display in future updates.

v0.7.0 Changes

The v0.7.0 update (March 2026) addressed a long-standing community complaint about karma volatility. Before this patch, karma changes from autonomous actions were occurring too rapidly, leading to frequent mood swings (sudden anger or aggression) in Zois who were otherwise well-behaved. The update adjusted the pace of autonomous karma shifts to produce more stable and predictable behavior, so a single bad autonomous decision no longer tanks a Zoi's karma overnight.

Karma Levels

There are seven karma tiers, ranging from the highest (Best) to the lowest (Terrible):

Good Karma Actions

Actions that raise karma are marked with blue indicators. They generally involve being kind, helpful, and supportive toward other Zois.

Solo Actions

• Clap (applaud another Zoi's performance)

• Cheer On (encourage another Zoi)

Social Interactions

Phone-Based Good Actions

• Upload and leave complimentary posts on Bubbly

• Send thank-you messages

• Sign environmental petitions

Bad Karma Actions

Actions that lower karma are marked with red indicators. They range from minor rudeness to outright violence.

Solo Actions

• Secretly drop items (littering)

• Express anger aggressively

• Throw away trash improperly

• Fart secretly near other Zois

Social Interactions

Phone-Based Bad Actions

• Send rumor texts about other Zois via Bubbly

• Send malicious rumor texts (requires Bad karma or worse)

• Send prank texts

Other Bad Karma Triggers

• Stealing valuables from other Zois or locations

• Committing fraud online

• Running over pedestrians while driving

• General acts of violence

• Destroying public property

• Robbing ATMs

• Stealing cars

New interaction options unlock as karma changes. Spreading rumors through Bubbly requires a karma level of Bad or worse. Some of the most harmful actions are locked behind low karma thresholds, meaning a Zoi must already be on a negative path before they gain access to the worst behaviors. This gradual escalation prevents players from immediately jumping to the most extreme actions with a fresh Zoi.

Effects of Karma

Social Consequences

Karma directly shapes how other Zois react to you. At Good karma and above, NPCs are friendly by default, offer more positive dialogue options, and are more willing to form relationships. At Poor karma and below, other Zois become wary, dismissive, or openly hostile. They may refuse to acknowledge you, spread rumors about you, or blatantly mock you on the street.

Karma is closely tied to the Recognition need. High karma helps fulfill Recognition through positive social feedback. Terrible karma starves it, since nobody wants to interact positively with the Zoi. If the Recognition need drops critically low, the Zoi may run away from home and never return. This disappearance is permanent: the Zoi vacates their spot in the family and cannot be recovered.

Interaction Unlocks

Karma level determines which interactions are available. As karma improves, new friendly and supportive interactions become available that make it easier to build positive relationships. When karma drops, aggressive and antisocial interactions unlock instead. The table below summarizes the key unlock thresholds:

Career Impact

Good karma makes job hunting and career progression easier. NPCs respond more favorably during professional interactions. Low karma creates obstacles: it becomes harder to find jobs, get promotions, and maintain professional relationships.

Ghost and Afterlife Mechanics

When a Zoi dies, a karma evaluation determines the fate of their soul:

Ghost traits are inherited from the living Zoi. A calm Zoi becomes a mild-mannered ghost, while a bully Zoi becomes a mischievous spirit. If too many ghosts accumulate in a city, new Zois cannot be born and new families cannot be created.

Ghost Gameplay

After death, the player can choose "On to the Afterlife" to begin playing as a ghost. The ghost state lasts for three in-game days. During this period, the ghost has access to Spirit Power, a regenerating resource that allows interaction with objects and the living world. Spirit Power recovers slowly over time and also recharges through conversations with other ghosts.

Each ghost receives a Dependency based on their cause of death. Needs and urges related to how the Zoi died will appear during the three-day ghost phase. Fulfilling these Dependency requirements unlocks special ghost abilities. For example, a Zoi who died by fire gains the power to set objects ablaze as a ghost.

Ghosts can also receive quests from Claire at the AR Library. These quests reveal the backstories of different ghosts in the city. Completing a ghost's story grants karma as a reward, helping the ghost inch closer to earning enough karma to pass on.

Ascension and Funeral

After the three-day ghost period ends, the Zoi is given a choice: ascend to the afterlife or attend their own funeral before departing. Funeral services take place at a Funeral Home, Columbarium, or Cemetery. When a Zoi passes away, an urn is generated, and surviving family members or friends can organize a funeral using the "Make Event" option. These ceremonies give other Zois a chance to pay their respects and process their grief.

Generational Effects

Karma carries consequences across generations. If a Zoi was notorious for bad behavior, it can affect how NPCs treat their descendants. Some NPCs may be biased against your entire family line if an ancestor left a bad mark.

City Karma

Beyond individual karma, each city has a collective karma status determined by the combined karma of all its residents. View the city's karma by going to the City Map, selecting "Edit City," and opening the Karma Report. This report shows all residents and their karma status.

When the majority of Zois in a city have Poor karma or lower, the city status changes to Caution. Under Caution status, negative events become more frequent. In severe cases, widespread bad karma leads to ghost infestations that prevent new families from forming.

City Stability Settings

Interventions

The intervention system lets you directly influence karma at the extreme ends of the scale. Interventions can be used once per 24 in-game hours through the City Menu.

Avoid using interventions between 5:00 and 6:00 AM, as this is a special time for Zois and interventions may not work correctly during that window.

The Souls Section

The Karma Report tracks every deceased Zoi who became a ghost. Each entry shows the ghost's name, karma level at death, and current status, giving an overview of the city's supernatural population. The ghost population percentage indicates how close the city is to ghost town status.

Crime System Connection

The crime system introduced in v0.5.0 creates a direct pipeline to low karma. Zois who pursue the thief or scammer paths through the Suspicious Job Agency accumulate negative karma from each crime at escalating levels (0-5). Higher-level crimes carry heavier karma penalties. A Zoi deep into the criminal lifestyle will almost certainly have Bad or Terrible karma, making ghost status at death nearly guaranteed unless they reform.

Karma and Law Enforcement

Bad karma actions performed in public can attract the attention of law enforcement. If a police officer witnesses a Zoi committing a crime or an act of violence, the Zoi can be arrested on the spot. The officer will handcuff the Zoi and escort them to jail.

Zois with low karma also have a higher chance of encountering police during their daily routine. Actions that can trigger an arrest include punching other Zois, starting fights, stealing money from shops, destroying public property, robbing ATMs, and extorting others.

A jailed Zoi is held in custody for 24 hours. Inside the cell, they have access to a bed, sink, mirror, toilet, and a vending machine, but cannot leave until the sentence expires. Unlike many life simulation games, jail in inZOI runs in real time: the player can control the Zoi inside the cell, though activities are extremely limited. Alternatively, clicking on the jailed Zoi and selecting "Get out of Jail" will release them instantly.

Bubbly and Rumors

The in-game social media platform Bubbly plays a role in the karma system. Zois with Bad karma or worse can spread rumors about other Zois through Bubbly. Rumors propagate between Zois and can damage the target's social standing. Conversely, posting positive content and complimentary messages on Bubbly earns good karma.

Karma Items and Cheats

Meow Store Items

Cheats

Two cheat commands affect karma. Access the cheat console with Ctrl + Shift + C (after enabling cheats through the Psycat's Advice menu):

There is no cheat to set an individual Zoi's karma to a specific level. The resetKarma cheat affects the entire city at once.

Planned Reputation System

The 2026 roadmap outlines a formal Reputation system separate from Karma. While Karma tracks a Zoi's internal moral path (functioning like "luck" that influences the probability of events), Reputation will measure how the outside world perceives a Zoi: how others talk about them, their social standing in the community, and how society responds to their presence.

Planned features include local community reputation scores, karma split into multiple areas (relationships, legacy, self-trust, social harm), a luck system as a separate mechanic influenced by karma, and competitive interactions that create rivalries. The developers have noted that not every feature on the roadmap is guaranteed to arrive on schedule.

Planned Karma Redesign (January 2026 Proposal)

In a developer diary posted on January 23, 2026, Director Kjun outlined a proposed redesign of the Karma system. The revised system would operate as a background mechanic, separate from the Reputation system, that accumulates silently based on player actions over time. Rather than directly unlocking or blocking content, Karma would function as a "luck" modifier that influences probability-based outcomes throughout the game.

Key elements of the proposed redesign:

The development team explicitly requested early community feedback on this design. All probabilities, numbers, and conditions are still in the tuning phase, and the team wants to hear concerns early and collect ideas about what should be reflected in Karma. As of March 2026, the redesign has not been fully implemented. The current in-game Karma system still uses the tier-based model described in the sections above.

Tips

• For a good-karma playthrough, focus on complimenting other Zois, sharing food, and sending thank-you messages. These are easy actions that consistently raise karma.

• For a villain playthrough, buy a Diabolic Donut from the Meow Store to jump straight to Terrible karma and unlock the full set of negative interactions.

• Monitor city karma through the Karma Report. If too many Zois have low karma, take action before the city reaches Caution status.

• Use the Scold intervention on Zois with Terrible karma to reset them. This prevents ghost infestations.

• Karma affects what happens at death. Make sure a Zoi's karma is at Fair or above before their time comes if you want them to pass on peacefully.

• Adjust City Safety settings if you want a more peaceful or chaotic city. Lower safety creates more dramatic gameplay but risks a karma spiral.

• Some of the most impactful bad karma actions (like spreading malicious rumors) require already having low karma. The system gradually escalates rather than jumping to the worst actions.

• If a Zoi accidentally falls to low karma, the Neutral Donut from the Meow Store is the fastest fix at only 100 Meow Coins.

• Keep an eye on autonomous karma shifts. Before v0.7.0, Zois could tank their own karma through uncontrolled autonomous actions. The March 2026 patch stabilized this, but it is still worth monitoring.

• Ghost gameplay lasts only three in-game days. Focus on fulfilling the Dependency requirements early to unlock the ghost's special ability before the window closes.

• Ghosts who complete quests from Claire at the AR Library earn karma rewards. If a ghost needs more karma to ascend, seek out Claire's quests during the three-day ghost period.

• The "Get out of Jail" option provides an instant release if waiting 24 hours is not worth the time. There is no karma penalty for using it.