Inzoi and The Sims start their relationship as life sim siblings with a friendly fruitcake delivery
Often dubbed as the "realistic Sims competitor" or even a potential "Sims killer," in the weeks leading up to Inzoi's early access launch, quite a few life sim players made the game out to be a natural enemy of The Sims. Thanks to a recent interaction between the two games on social media, though, it seems like both developers are planning to have a more neighborly relationship.
Last week, The Sims' X account posted an unexpected message for Inzoi, welcoming the game's early access version to the world of life sims with some instantly recognizable offerings: the Simlish greeting "Sul Sul!" and a piece of the series' classic fruitcake (a questionable delicacy that's always delivered to Sims who are new to town). Inzoi's account was quick to respond, posting images of a Zoi indulging in a similar-looking piece of fruitcake and some other tasty treats.
Fans of both games seemed to appreciate the exchange, with many posting on Reddit about how sweet the neighborly exchange was and how the games even acknowledged each other at all despite being pretty direct competitors. A few Simmers did interpret the post as vaguely threatening thanks to fruitcake's long history of being disliked by both Sims and real-world players, but everyone else seemed content (even if fruitcake isn't the most likable dessert out there). I, for one, was pleasantly surprised—it's nice to see competing developers support each other, even if it involves a dreaded dessert.
The fruitcake delivery followed Inzoi's early access launch, which was surprisingly civil—despite some interesting bugs (including one absurd issue that allowed players to hit children with cars), Inzoi somehow managed to avoid the usual review-related turmoil that seems to plague even highly-anticipated big games, earning "very positive" reviews instead. On the other hand, it also hasn't caused everybody to abandon The Sims, either. Maybe there is no real "Sims killer"—just a "Sims neighbor" instead.
Inzoi roadmap: Early access updates
Inzoi cheats: The current cheat codes
Inzoi multiplayer: Will it be online?
Inzoi Character Studio: How character creation works
Games like The Sims: More to life