Summary
Finding a discussion online aboutInZoithat doesn’t involveThe Simsis difficult. The hyperrealistic life simulator from Korean gaming conglomerate Krafton has been set up as a direct competitor to The Sims, a game that’s held a near-monopoly in the genre since the series began in the year 2000.
The Sims 4, despite still being a very popular game, has attracted a lot of vocal detractors unhappy with Electronic Arts (EA) and Maxis' management of the title, which routinely releases $40 expansions. It’s clear that a lot of these players who were desperate for an alternative have flocked to the InZoi community, and as such, tend to compare the two games a lot in discussions.
This has created a sense of factionalism and animosity between the two camps, with InZoi players hoping the game can eclipse the popularity of The Sims 4. Unfortunately, InZoi’s early access release recently fell to alower number of concurrent playersthan The Sims 4 has had in years. However, given that it’s an early-access game, there’s always the possibility that these players are waiting for the next major update to return. After all, InZoi has been positively received, holding a"Very Positive" review scoreon Steam.
Healthy Competition
As it turns out, Electronic Arts is keeping tabs on its Korean competitor. In a Reddit thread byLoco1989, several commenters claim to be part of EA’s playtesting program and allege they’ve been inundated with surveys from EA about InZoi.
“They said this feels like the tenth survey they’ve received from EA since InZoi’s early access release. They think the Sims team is genuinely scared,” writes the original poster, in reference to a friend of theirs who received the survey.
“I received it as well,” writesQuizzicalWombat. “I was brutally honest, but they need to hear it. I’ve been a Sims player since the beginning. I love the franchise and only want it to be better. Competition is good for both games, I hope they both listen but I have very very very little faith in EA.”
Another commenter claims to have received the same survey even though they’re a Skate playtester, rather than a Sims one. This would suggest these surveys are being sent to everyone in EA’s playtesting ecosystem, rather than just Sims testers.
It’s difficult to say if Electronic Arts is genuinely “worried” considering the consistent success of The Sims over the past two-and-a-half decades. It’s just good business practice to take note of what your competition is doing. As for InZoi, the studio has already announced aroadmap that details the updates players can expect in 2025, with the next major update coming in May.
