Revision 11

Launch

inZOI launched in Early Access on Steam on March 28, 2025 at $39.99 USD. The launch was one of the biggest for a life simulation game in years.

• The game ranked #1 on Steam's Global Top Wishlists the day before release.

• It reached #1 on Steam's Global Top Sellers (by revenue) within 40 minutes of going live.

• Peak concurrent players hit 87,377 on launch day.

• Over 1.2 million players interacted with Canvas on launch day.

• By April 4, 2025 (one week after launch) KRAFTON announced the game had surpassed 1 million copies sold, making it the company's fastest-selling title ever.

KRAFTON branded inZOI a long-term franchise following the sales performance and committed to all updates remaining free through the Early Access period.

Steam Reviews

At launch, Steam reviews were 86% positive (Very Positive) based on approximately 2,700 reviews. Players praised the depth of Character Creation, the visual fidelity of Unreal Engine 5, and the ambition of the Smart Zoi AI system.

Over the following months, the review score trended downward as players encountered issues typical of Early Access: bugs, performance problems on mid-range hardware, content gaps compared to established life sims, and limited gameplay depth in some areas (thin career content, basic baby and toddler interactions, lack of pets). The review rating gradually shifted from Very Positive toward mixed territory as the player base grew and expectations sharpened.

By April 2026, the cumulative review verdict on Steam had stabilised in the high mid-range, with positive sentiment lifted by major content patches (notably the v0.7.0 anniversary update in March 2026) and dragged down by long-standing complaints about performance on lower-spec hardware and the slow pace of school and pet content. Reviews from early access players generally distinguished between the game's core fundamentals (consistently praised for character creation, visual fidelity, and ambition) and its content depth (still seen as the gap to fill before 1.0).

Player Retention

Concurrent player counts followed a steep decline after the launch spike. Within roughly three months, daily concurrent players on Steam dropped from the 87,377 launch peak to approximately 1,500, a decline of about 98%. This pattern is not unusual for single-player games with no competitive or social hooks, but it was amplified by Early Access content limitations.

Major updates brought player spikes. The Island Getaway DLC in August 2025 and the v0.5.0 update in December 2025 (which added business ownership and the crime system) both drew players back temporarily.

The v0.7.0 anniversary update on March 26, 2026 produced the largest post-launch player rebound to date. Daily concurrent players climbed back into the low thousands during the week following the patch, supported by approximately 60 new features and over 1,300 new items. By late April 2026, 30-day average concurrents settled around 1,453 with recent 24-hour peaks near 2,564, representing roughly a 47% lift over the pre-anniversary baseline.

Community Reception of the 2026 Roadmap

The 2026 Roadmap announcement in late December 2025 was well received by the community. Players welcomed the quarterly breakdown, the separation of core improvements from experimental Part 2 initiatives (Canvastown, multiplayer, modding), and the Fundamentals First philosophy that prioritises polish over feature breadth.

By the March 28, 2026 anniversary livestream, KRAFTON reported 55 Fundamentals First items completed, ahead of original schedule. Community sentiment generally trended positive through Q1 2026.

On April 17, 2026, Director Hyungjun Kim confirmed in a community letter that the full 1.0 launch is now targeted for early 2027 (originally implied as a possible late-2026 release), and that the PlayStation 5 release is treated as a parallel priority alongside the 1.0 launch rather than the original H1 2026 window. Reception of the realignment was mixed: some players welcomed the additional development time, while others expressed concern about the cumulative slip across announced features. The April 24 follow-up letter confirmed May 2026 would not be a major content release, deferring the Hair Stylist career, Clothing Store career, first-person camera, MetaHuman preset import, and Build Mode multi-selection to a later patch.

The Generative AI Controversy

Shortly after launch, community discussion focused on inZOI's use of generative AI. The game includes several AI-powered tools: AI Texture (text-to-pattern generation for clothing and furniture), the 3D Printer (image-to-3D object conversion), and Smart Zoi (AI-driven autonomous NPC behavior).

Some players and outlets raised concerns that these models might be trained on third-party work without consent. KRAFTON responded publicly on the official @PlayinZOI account and on Steam, stating that all AI features within inZOI use proprietary models developed by KRAFTON and are trained using solely company-owned and copyright-free assets and data. They also confirmed that all AI runs on-device, with no cloud processing.

The response split the community. Some appreciated the transparency and approved of the self-contained approach, while others remained opposed to generative AI in games on principle. By April 2026 the conversation had largely receded as gameplay updates dominated community discussion.

Key Praise

Key Criticism

Media Coverage

inZOI received widespread coverage as the first genuine competitor to EA's The Sims franchise. The narrative centered on whether a Korean studio could break a 25-year monopoly in the life simulation genre. The strong first-week sales gave credibility to the idea, while the post-launch player retention drop tempered expectations through mid-2025.

The macOS announcement at Apple WWDC 2025 brought additional attention outside the core gaming audience. The PlayStation 5 announcement in August 2025 was covered by mainstream gaming outlets, and the April 17, 2026 confirmation that PS5 had been realigned to the 1.0 timeline received follow-up coverage. The March 26, 2026 anniversary update was covered as a turning point in the early access cycle, with several outlets framing it as proof of concept for KRAFTON's free-update commitment.

Competitor Context

inZOI's reception cannot be separated from its position relative to The Sims 4, which has been the dominant life simulation game since 2014. Many reviewers and players framed inZOI as a check on EA's pricing model. The Sims 4 charges separately for expansion packs, while inZOI includes all Early Access content for a flat $39.99.

The visual quality gap between the two games is significant, with inZOI's Unreal Engine 5 foundation producing noticeably more detailed graphics. However, The Sims 4's decade of content updates means it still offers more raw gameplay variety. Reviewers consistently positioned inZOI as a striking and ambitious work in progress, holding the potential to become a benchmark for the genre once content depth catches up to its visual and systems ambition.

Sales and Player Count Snapshot

See Also

inZOI Game Overview covers the game's overall scope. Update History lists every patch since launch. 2026 Roadmap tracks the realigned plan. PlayStation 5 Version covers the platform timeline. inZOI Studio and KRAFTON cover the developer and publisher.