Which of these two life simulators left the biggest impression on you? While media coverage can be misleading, the numbers don't lie. InZoi, which was marketed as the only serious competitor to The Sims franchise, has been on the market for several weeks now. It's time to take stock of its impact on this genre that has been closed for many years.
The Sims, but better
The studio's talent lies in the anticipation and excitement it created around InZoi well before its release. The Korean touch was felt throughout the communication and promotion process for the game, which pulled out all the stops. InZoi is a graphic gem that boasted of being developed using Unreal Engine 5, an engine renowned for its ability to produce ultra-realistic environments. This is a feature that has been leveraged for character customization, as evidenced by the first trailers.
But expectations weren't based solely on the graphics. The gameplay offered in the first demonstrations seemed richer and geared toward social and professional interactivity. Where The Sims offered a very free but often superficial approach to careers, InZoi promised to actively embody roles in a vibrant urban world.
This desire to simulate not only everyday life but also the social impact of our choices appealed to an audience seeking greater immersion. Additionally, the first images suggested more advanced emotional character management, capable of giving rise to more credible and intimate stories.
A triumphant reception that wasn't enough
Since its release, the feedback has been on par with the communication surrounding the game. InZoi has invaded the computers of players but also of content creators who have had a blast on social networks. The realism of the simulation on all levels as well as the possibility of doing homemade motion capture have seduced fans of the genre, but also those who were launching for the first time. It must be said that The Sims 4 and its billion DLCs can be slightly intimidating at first glance.
But at least it's a formula that works. More than a month after its release, the numbers are more than disappointing for InZoi, which has lost a large part of its community. On Steam, the title has a peak of 87,377 players connected simultaneously, while that of The Sims 4 is 96,328. This information would not be so dramatic if it were not to be put into perspective with other figures, attesting to the longevity of the game.
InZoi has recorded a peak of 5,231 players in the last 24 hours and around 2,000 people connected in real time at the time of writing this article. For The Sims 4, the game has a peak of more than 45,000 players in the last 24 hours and still 20,000 in real time. He is therefore still 10 times more popular than InZoi today. The Korean legend will therefore not have been a dream come true for long. It remains to be seen who the next big competitor will be and if they will do better.
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