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October 2025 Update
April 10, 2026 at 05:47 AM
Full article replacing stub with comprehensive coverage of the v0.4.0 October 2025 update including Halloween event, ghost gameplay, funerals, mentality overhaul, pumpkin farming, cosmetics, building items, day length changes, and ghost fish
The October 2025 Update (version 0.4.0) launched on October 30, 2025, just in time for Halloween. The centerpiece was a seasonal Halloween event featuring pumpkin farming, trick-or-treating, and carved pumpkin decorations. But the update went far deeper than seasonal content: it introduced ghost gameplay after death, a formal funeral system, and a sweeping overhaul of the mentality system that unified over 400 mental elements into a single coherent framework. Day length was also rebalanced from 96 real-world minutes per in-game day down to 48, a change that dramatically improved the pacing of daily life.
The Halloween event was inZOI's first seasonal content drop. During the event period, the game world transforms with themed decorations, and several exclusive activities become available:
Pumpkin farming: Seasonal pumpkin crops can be planted, grown, and harvested. Pumpkins are used for carving and cooking.
Pumpkin carving: Harvested pumpkins can be carved into jack-o'-lanterns and placed as decorations around the lot.
Trick or Treat: Zois (particularly children and teens) can go door to door collecting candy from neighbors. This social interaction builds relationships and yields seasonal treats.
Ghost fish: Special spectral fish appear in rivers and ocean locations only during the Halloween period. These rare catches are highly valued and can be displayed as trophies.
The seasonal event demonstrated Krafton's plans for recurring real-world holiday tie-ins, giving players time-limited content to look forward to throughout the year.
When a Zoi dies in v0.4.0 and beyond, they do not simply vanish. Instead, they become a ghost for 3 in-game days. During this period, the ghost Zoi remains on the lot and can interact with living household members and visitors. Ghost interactions include haunting objects, floating through walls, and having conversations with the living. The ghost retains their personality and relationships from life.
After the 3-day ghost period, two things happen. First, the ghost ascends and is permanently removed from active gameplay. Second, a funeral event is triggered for surviving household members and friends. Players can choose to let the ghost period play out naturally or can direct the ghost's actions during those final days, creating a meaningful farewell period rather than an abrupt loss.
The funeral system formalizes how the game handles death. After a ghost ascends, a funeral event gathers the deceased Zoi's household members, friends, and acquaintances. The event functions similarly to other social gatherings: attendees arrive, interact, mourn, and pay their respects. Relationships and mentality influence how each attendee reacts. Close family members experience stronger grief effects, which impact their mood and behavior in the days following the funeral.
The funeral system brings emotional weight to the life simulation. Rather than death being a simple removal of a character, it becomes a narrative moment with consequences for the surviving Zois.
The v0.4.0 update completely restructured the mentality system. Previously, traits, characteristics, ambitions, and urges existed as separate mechanics with limited interplay. The overhaul unified all of these into a single mentality framework containing over 400 mental elements.
Under the new system, each Zoi's mentality is a layered combination of innate personality traits, learned characteristics, long-term ambitions, and moment-to-moment urges. These elements interact with each other dynamically. For example, a Zoi with a creative trait and an ambition to become an artist will have stronger urges to paint when they encounter art supplies. The system also tracks how mentality evolves over time based on life experiences, relationships, and daily habits.
The 400+ elements cover a wide range of psychological and behavioral dimensions: social preferences, emotional tendencies, intellectual interests, physical habits, creative impulses, moral inclinations, and more. The result is that each Zoi feels more distinct and reactive, with their behavior stemming from a coherent internal model rather than a handful of isolated traits.
One of the most impactful gameplay changes in v0.4.0 was the adjustment to day length. Previously, one in-game day lasted 96 real-world minutes, which many players felt was too long. Tasks stretched out, waiting for events felt tedious, and the overall pacing dragged. The update cut the day length in half to 48 real-world minutes per in-game day.
The shorter day cycle made daily life feel significantly better paced. Morning routines, work shifts, social activities, and evening wind-downs all fit into a more natural rhythm. Sleep, meal, and commute durations were scaled accordingly so that Zois still had enough time to accomplish their goals within a single day. Community response to this change was overwhelmingly positive.
The October update added over 100 new cosmetics (clothing and accessories) and more than 150 new building items (furniture and decorations) to the game. Many of the new items had a Halloween or autumn aesthetic, but the majority were season-neutral additions to the core catalog. The building items expanded options for kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and outdoor areas, while the cosmetics included both everyday wear and spooky-themed costumes appropriate for the Halloween event.
