Fans of life simulation games have been lovinginZOI, which has already hit an impressive sales milestone in its first week of availability. As of Friday,inZOIhas sold over one million copieson Steam to become publisher Krafton Inc.’s fastest sales record ever, the company says.inZOIallows players to create highly detailed characters and houses and to live out various storylines as they progress through the game, which changes depending on the player’s actions and choices.
According to Krafton in a press release,inZOIhit the top of Steam’s Global Seller list, which is ranked by total revenue, just 40 minutes after its release. The publisher also touted high engagement for its user-generated content platform and in Twitch streams. The developers also recentlypromised thatinZOIwill grow and evolve regularly.inZOIis exclusively available on PC, though the hit title has a planned Xbox and PlayStation release in the future.
1 Million In Sales For InZOI Is Big For A New Life Sim
The Game Acts As a Direct Competitor To The Sims
Sales numbers aside,inZOIhas managed some impressive statistics heading into the month of April. Players have given the game a Very Positive rating onSteamwith an overall positive score of 83%. Krafton says that fans have flocked toinZOI’suser-generated content (UGC) platform “Canvas,” with 1.2 million players uploading over 400,000 pieces.inZOIalso made its way onto Twitch’s streaming charts, boasting a third-place ranking in the Games category with roughly 175,000 people tuning in concurrently to watch gameplay.
Hitting one million in sales so early into its release is huge forinZOI. The life simulation game market has been dominated byThe Simsfranchise since 1989, with the most recent installment,The Sims 4,released in 2014. Publisher Electronic Artslaunched an expansion forThe Sims 4in early Marchthat brought new hobbies and interests to the game ahead ofinZOI’srelease.
Notably, unlikeinZOI, the base game ofThe Simsis free to download, and players only need to pay if they want to get their hands on updates and expansion packs. Having over one million people make the choice to pay for a life sim when they could continue playingThe Simsfor free is very impressive.
Our Take: InZOI Is Already Building A Community, But Can The Game Maintain It?
It’s Too Early To Tell If inZOI Will Enjoy Longevity
inZOIhas clearly earned some fans, though it’s too early to tell if its popularity is based on its novelty or on its gameplay mechanics. On the surface level,inZOIblowsThe Sims 4graphics out of the water, which isn’t that surprising considering there are 11 years of technological advancement between the two games. However,players have noted thatinZOIis still a little rougharound the edges and would benefit from some patches, with themost common complaints being the complex building system and strange economy setup.
I Can’t Tell If InZOI Is Too Good To Be True, Or If The Sims Has Lowered My Expectations
InZOI has been hyped up as a Sims killer, but I can’t tell if it’s too good to be true, or if I just have low expectations after years with The Sims.
It’s going to take a lot forinZOIto dethrone the fan favor and devotion that’s keptThe Simsalive for over 30 years, but if Krafton continues to maintain its positive player-developer relationship and listen to what fans have to say about the game,its community has the potential to thrive. We’ll have to wait and see how players react toinZOIas it continues to change and grow.
Source: Krafton (press release),inZOI/X
