UPDATE: May 24, 2026 - 10:00 AM EDT
Paralives Launches On Steam Tomorrow
With launch day just around the corner, we've done a wee bit of housekeeping with this article to remind those of you looking to fill the Sims-shaped hole in your heart that Paralives looks like it'll do the trick! Make sure to check it out and let us know what you thought.
Steam users can enjoy all kinds of official Sims games, but those hungry for a new experience have a brand-new IP to look forward to tomorrow. Steam is home to the latest Sims games from EA and Maxis, as well as classic, older entries in the franchise. In fact, The Sims 4 is readily available on Steam and is still receiving significant support to this day.
Originally released in 2014, The Sims 4 has come a long way since its rocky launch. Sims 4 updates have kept the game fresh, with a dizzying number of new additions made in the last decade+ of the game's lifespan. Even so, there are many genre fans that are ready to see a brand-new Sims game, but EA and Maxis have yet to deliver.
Paralives Should Greatly Appeal to Sims Fans
Since EA and Maxis haven't released a new Sims game, other developers have taken matters into their own hands, delivering Sims-like games with unique twists. One of these new Sims-like games is finally entering early access seven years after it was originally announced, with Paralives set to launch tomorrow — on Monday, May 25. Paralives features a cute, cartoony art style that is pure "cozy game" vibes and looks like it will greatly appeal to fans of The Sims that want something new to play.
In Paralives, players use a robust character creation tool to build their ideal Parafolks, and can then observe or interfere in their lives just like in The Sims. Paralives' Parafolks live in a cozy open world and can interact with each other, work at jobs, pursue relationships, have children, and even die. Players are able to build and customize homes like in The Sims as well, so Paralives is definitely checking a lot of boxes.
When Paralives comes to Steam on May 25, it will be in early access, meaning that fans can expect a lot of substantial updates in the months and years ahead as the game nears its 1.0 release. New features coming post-launch include (but are not limited to) weather and seasons, animals like dogs and cats, vehicles like cars and boats, swimming pools, gardening, fishing, town creation tools, and a lot more. Paralives is a wildly ambitious attempt to knock The Sims off its throne, and while the jury is still out on if it will live up to expectations, what's been shown so far looks incredibly promising.
Of course, Paralives isn't the only Sims competitor out there. Steam users that want to give a different Sims-style game a try while they wait for Paralives may want to check out InZOI. InZOI's gimmick is that it's a Sims-style game with more realistic graphics than most games in the genre. While it was very light on content at the time of its launch, InZOI has received substantial updates since then, and should be a much better game now. Like Paralives, InZOI is an early access release, so it should only get better and more fully-featured as time marches on.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- May 25, 2026
- Developer(s)
- Paralives Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Paralives Studio
- Engine
- Unity
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Life Simulation, Sandbox, Immersive Sim
