All InZoi early access DLC “will be provided for free” because of course it should be

Forthcoming life sim InZoi – the plucky (genAI-ridden) David to The Sims 4’s Goliath – will cost $40 at its early access launch, the developers have announced. What’s more, “all updates and DLCs will be provided for free” until the game hits 1.0, according to translated commentary from game director Hyungjun Kim.

This is being styled as a gift unto the gamers, and another way of tempting them from the clutches of The Sims, whose DLC packs commonly sell for full-game prices. The other way of looking at it is that of course early access “updates and DLC” should be free. The point of early access is that you’re paying for an unfinished game with the expectation that it’ll eventually be worth the money. Also, what’s the difference between an update and a DLC? My my, Inzoi, what a can of worms you have opened.

The news arrives care of a global showcase last night, which also breaks down the new life sim’s early access development – it’s launching on 28th March. We can expect four major updates this year, together with new outfits and furniture every three months. Here’s an approximate rundown.

Update 1, May

Mod kit (Maya, Blender)

Changes to weight, muscle adjustment

In-game cheat codes

Relationship improvements

Adoption system

Build mode improvements & new furniture

Create a Zoi improvements

Outfit updates

Update 2, August

Ghost play

Swimming & pools

More resources for edit city

AI build mode

Freelancer jobs

Improvements to text messages & skills

Parenting improvements

Update 3, October

Family time

Hotkey customization

Build mode–adjust object size

New furniture

Moving homes UX improvements

Create a Zoi improvements

Mod updates

Update 4, December

Memory system

Move cities

Interaction responses based on traits

Build mode improvements and new furniture

Create a Zoi improvements

Mod updates

New outfits

Indoor temperature

In terms of competing with The Sims, the key addition is probably that mod kit in May. InZoi will need a healthy community of tinkerers if it’s to usurp the EA colossus (or perhaps just prosper alongside it – why do I insist on pitting them against each other? Why am I like this?)

I’m also quite interested in the ability to play a ghost – there are 16 ways a character can die in Inzoi, and if you have bad karma when you pop your clogs you’ll linger on as a spectre, thwarting the birth of new Zois by, as far as I can tell, contributing to the neighbourhood population cap.

Returning to the point about the unfairness of charging for early access DLC – obviously, game development isn’t that cut and dried. Perhaps a developer runs into unexpected costs that require them to slap a price tag on an early access update. Perhaps they decide they want to add a player-requested feature they haven’t scoped for. Perhaps they really needed to charge more for the base early access game but didn’t feel they could get away with it.

Still, I don’t like the dilution of the early access concept here. In general, it feels increasingly like developers and publishers view early access as simply a variant of the live service game, with more purchaseables being added over time.