Inzoi may not have captured the critics, but it’s certainly managed to capture the life sim community at large, as Krafton has revealed the game’s gone and sold over one million copies in its launch week.
That’s pretty impressive for any game, but even more so for one that’s relatively niche. Life simulation games aren’t exactly up there with your Monster Hunters and Marvel Rivals of the world, so it’s cool to Inzoi pulling some pretty big numbers even if I don’t have super positive thoughts about the game right now.
I feel like it’s even more impressive when you consider that Inzoi is in early access. That’s over one million people willing to cough up the dough for an incomplete experience, though Krafton has reassured players that it doesn’t want to be just another one of those early access games.
I’m not entirely surprised that Inzoi has done well for itself, though. The life sim genre is a market that’s been all but cornered by The Sims for the last 25 years, and that monopoly has left some pretty unchecked choices from EA at times. I hardly blame people for wanting to opt for a $40 game that isn’t shy about needing some extra work, rather than staring at the behemoth that is The Sims’ thousands of dollars worth of DLC.
Hell, Inzoi even manages to eat The Sims’ lunch in places, like packing seasons into its base game rather than attaching it to a $40 expansion and promising pets as a free addition in the future, too. Plus its focus on realistic graphics is a huge plus if you’re into that kind of stuff, especially with The Sims 4 in particular facing criticism over the years for its cartoonish art style.
Even if I personally wish Inzoi had been given a little more time in the oven, I’m stoked regardless to see that it managed to skyrocket to the top of Steam’s wishlist charts and now has the sales to show for it. Like I wrote last month, competition in niche genres like this is always welcome, and I hope that Krafton continues to refine Inzoi into something that’ll push The Sims to be an even better game, and vice versa.
