The highly anticipated life simulation game, inZOI, touted to be “The Sims killer” has overtaken big names on Steam to become the most wish-listed game on the platform. With only a few days away from its Early Access release, inZOI has summoned a wave of players on the platform, enough to take down the award-winning sequel to Hollow Knight, SilkSong, and Valve’s next big project, Deadlock.

Other games listed below inZOI in the wish-list ranking include Elden Ring Nightreign, Mecha Break, Light No Fire, and Subnautica 2. According to SteamDB, inZOI received an increase of over 50,000 wishlists in the past seven days. We will likely see even more rapid increases in the following days.

InZOI is scheduled for Early Access release on Windows (via Steam) on March 28th. Those seeking to play the game on other platforms will have to wait for later releases. InZOI will be out with a pretty high $40 price tag, though the developers promised to give future updates and DLCs for free until the game’s full launch.

What is InZOI?

If you’re a major life simulation enthusiast, you would have heard of inZOI by now. Published by Korean video game company, Krafton, notable for publishing the PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) series and Subnautica 2, inZOI offers many elements typical of the life-sim genre, such as character customization, daily activities, career, and education. 

But what sets it apart is its ultra-realistic visuals, designed using Unreal Engine 5, and an open-world setting, which have drawn significant attention to the game. Krafton will initially introduce three open-world maps, with each resembling Seoul in South Korea, Los Angeles in the United States, and Cahaya in Indonesia.

InZOI is often compared to Electronic Arts' The Sims series, which has dominated the life-simulation genre for decades. With InZOI's upcoming release, many are eagerly watching to see if it will become the next major contender in the life-sim space and if it will actually live up to the hype. 

Community Reaction

This early milestone by inZOI has surprised plenty of gamers. A user on Reddit responded to the news, sharing his awe of the life-sim hype: “To overtake Silksong, Nightrein, and Deadlock in just a week is crazy. Usually, it's going to move a few places every then and now, but to overtake the top 3 in a week... That's actually crazy. I wonder how many players it would have on day one.”

Another user shared the idea that inZOI’s playerbase may just range outside of the typical life-sim crowd, as fans of other role-playing games like GTA are also looking closely at the game’s launch. “It's not just the life sim population that are interested in the game. I just watched Asmongold's reaction on the InZOI trailer and a bunch of his fans wanted to try out the game. AngryJoe wanted to try it out as well. I'm sure Linus Tech Tips will use the game as a benchmark for his future videos. GTA fans will want this while waiting for GTA VI, and the RP community there has been waiting for a game like this for decades.” 

InZOI's release will be one to eye for with immense hype building up. Catch its Early Access release this March 28th, three days from now.