InZOI
inZOI is a life simulation game developed by Krafton, a South Korean video game holding company best known for PUBG: Battlegrounds. Released in 2025 after several years in development, inZOI has drawn numerous comparisons to Maxis's SimCity (2013), with many players and critics considering it a spiritual successor that builds upon SimCity's foundation while addressing many of its limitations. There are many similarities and differences between these two city simulation titles, like how inZOI has evolved the genre while learning from both the successes and controversies of SimCity. For additional information about inZOI, players can check the inZOI Wiki.
Contents
Development History
SimCity
SimCity (2013), officially titled simply as "SimCity," was developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Released in March 2013, it represented the first major entry in the franchise since SimCity 4 in 2003. The game was built on the new GlassBox engine, which was designed to simulate individual agents (citizens, vehicles, resources) rather than using statistical abstractions as previous titles had done.
The development team, led by creative director Ocean Quigley, aimed to create a more realistic simulation with visual fidelity that would appeal to modern gamers. However, the game became infamous for its troubled launch, with server issues preventing many players from accessing the game for weeks after release due to its controversial always-online DRM requirement.
inZOI
inZOI was developed using Unreal Engine 5, allowing for significantly more detailed visuals and larger simulation capabilities than were possible with SimCity's GlassBox engine. Krafton positioned inZOI as both a city-builder and a life simulator, combining elements of SimCity with those of The Sims.
The development team included several industry veterans who had previously worked on other simulation titles, though notably not directly from the SimCity team. The game entered early access in late 2022 before its full release in 2023, allowing the developers to incorporate player feedback before the final launch, a strategy that directly contrasted with SimCity's more traditional release approach.
Gameplay and Core Mechanics
City Size and Limitations
One of the most significant criticisms of SimCity was its restricted city sizes. Each city was limited to a 2km × 2km plot, which many players found overly constraining compared to previous titles in the series. This limitation was attributed to the computational demands of the GlassBox engine's agent-based simulation.
inZOI addressed this limitation directly by offering significantly larger city areas, up to 4 times the size of SimCity's plots. This was achieved through more efficient simulation algorithms and the power of Unreal Engine 5. Additionally, inZOI implemented a scaling system that allows certain simulation elements to be calculated at different levels of detail depending on player focus and system capabilities, allowing for larger cities without sacrificing performance.
Simulation Depth
SimCity's GlassBox engine simulated individual citizens (called "Sims") as they moved between home, work, and shopping, creating a visual representation of the city's economy. However, these agents lacked persistence, they would often change homes and jobs daily, rather than being consistent entities over time.
inZOI's simulation system combines agent-based modeling with statistical methods for different aspects of city life. Individual citizens in inZOI have persistent identities, relationships, and routines that develop over time, similar to characters in The Sims. This allows players to follow specific citizens throughout their lives, adding a personal narrative element absent from SimCity.
What sets inZOI apart is its "community simulation" approach. Krafton has emphasized player-driven storytelling, with tools to share custom content and scenarios online. The game's world reacts to your choices, NPCs have their own schedules and personalities, and your actions can ripple through the community.
Visuals and Technology
Artistic Direction
SimCity featured a somewhat stylized visual approach with vibrant colors and slightly caricatured building designs. The tilt-shift camera gave cities a toy-like charm, and the GlassBox engine brought animations to life, smoke billowed from factories, and Sims bustled along streets. This art style allowed the game to run on a wider range of hardware while still looking visually appealing, particularly when zoomed out to view the entire city.
inZOI opted for a more realistic visual style while still maintaining some stylized elements. The game takes advantage of Unreal Engine 5's capabilities, featuring more detailed textures, dynamic lighting with global illumination, and more realistic weather effects. Buildings in inZOI feature architectural styles from around the world with greater attention to cultural accuracy. It's a visual powerhouse with photorealistic characters and environments, showcasing stunning detail in skin textures, hair physics, and lighting that rival real-world photography.
Day/Night Cycle
SimCity introduced a day/night cycle that affected the visual appearance of the city but had limited gameplay impact. Street lights would turn on, buildings would illuminate, and traffic patterns would slightly change, but most simulation aspects remained the same regardless of time.
inZOI expanded on this concept with a more meaningful day/night cycle that significantly impacts city dynamics. Citizens follow realistic schedules, with different districts becoming active or quiet depending on the time of day. Specialized areas like entertainment districts come alive at night, while residential areas see more activity in mornings and evenings. This system creates more realistic city rhythms and requires players to consider time-based needs when planning their cities.
City Specialization and Economy
Regional Play
SimCity introduced the concept of regions, where players could build multiple cities in interconnected plots that could share resources, workers, and services. This was intended to encourage specialization and cooperation, either between multiple cities managed by a single player or in multiplayer regions.
inZOI maintained this regional concept but expanded it significantly. Cities in inZOI exist within larger metropolitan areas, with more nuanced relationships between neighboring settlements. The game introduced concepts like commuter suburbs, satellite cities, and urban sprawl that more accurately reflect real-world urban development patterns. Transportation networks between cities have greater importance, with robust highway, railway, and public transit systems that can be customized in much greater detail.
Economic Systems
SimCity featured resource gathering (oil, ore, etc.), manufacturing, and commercial transactions in a simplified economic model. Cities could specialize in tourism, gambling, electronics, etc., but the economic simulation was frequently criticized for oversimplification and exploitable patterns.
inZOI presents a more complex economic model with supply chains that span multiple steps and can cross between cities. Resources must be extracted, refined, manufactured, and distributed through a more realistic economic network. The game also features more detailed tourism mechanics, with attractions that appeal to different demographics, seasonal tourism patterns, and reputation systems that evolve over time based on visitor experiences.
Life Simulation Elements
Citizen Detail
In SimCity, citizens were primarily statistical representations with limited individual properties. They would travel between buildings creating visual traffic but lacked persistent identities or detailed needs beyond basic categories like wealth level.
inZOI's most significant departure from SimCity is its focus on individual citizens as detailed entities. Each citizen has:
- Persistent identity with biographical information
- Personal relationships with other citizens
- Career progression and workplace relationships
- Hobbies and preferences that affect their behavior
- Housing preferences that evolve with life stages
- Health profiles that respond to environmental factors
This depth allows players to follow individual stories within their city, creating a more emotionally engaging experience similar to The Sims but at a city-wide scale.
Player Avatar
SimCity did not feature a player avatar or direct character control, maintaining the traditional "god view" of city-builders where players remain an unseen administrative force.
inZOI introduced optional avatar gameplay, allowing players to create a character who can physically explore the city they've built from a third-person perspective. This character can interact with citizens, visit buildings, and complete character-based missions that provide additional insights into city dynamics. This feature can be disabled for players who prefer the traditional city-builder experience.
Modding and Community Content
Official Support
SimCity launched without official modding support, though EA eventually released limited modding capabilities about a year after launch. These tools were quite restricted, primarily allowing cosmetic changes rather than fundamental gameplay alterations.
inZOI shipped with comprehensive modding tools from launch, allowing players to create new buildings, vehicles, citizen appearances, and even gameplay mechanics. This approach recognized the importance of user-generated content in extending the longevity of simulation games.
Community Engagement
The SimCity community maintained extensive wikis, including simcity2013wiki.com, which documented game mechanics, building specifications, and strategies. These resources were primarily player-created with minimal official support. The SimCity Wiki is practical, with pages offering actionable advice on topics like "Power Plants" or "Traffic Management."
Similarly, inZOI has generated its own community resources, with inzoiwiki.com emerging as the primary repository of game information. What distinguishes the inZOI Wiki from the SimCity Wiki is the level of developer engagement, Krafton has provided an API that allows the wiki to automatically update with the latest game statistics after patches, ensuring information accuracy. Additionally, the developers actively contribute to the wiki's technical sections, providing insights into game mechanics that would be difficult for players to reverse-engineer.
While the SimCity Wiki has depth and maturity from years of player contributions, the inZOI Wiki is newer but growing quickly. The SimCity Wiki is more systematic and technical, while the inZOI Wiki tends to be more personal and creative, with a more modern layout and embedded screenshots.
Development and Reception
Launch Issues
SimCity's launch was marred by server issues that prevented many players from accessing the game they had purchased. These problems, combined with the controversial always-online requirement, led to significant backlash and damaged the game's reputation even after the technical issues were resolved.
inZOI benefited from a smoother launch, largely due to its early access period that allowed for server infrastructure testing before full release. The game's ability to function offline also prevented the kind of accessibility issues that plagued SimCity's launch.
Critical Reception
SimCity received mixed reviews, with critics praising its visual design and the concept of the GlassBox engine, but criticizing the small city sizes, simplified gameplay compared to previous titles, and online requirements. The game holds a Metacritic score in the 60-70 range, depending on platform.
inZOI has generally received more favorable reviews, with critics highlighting its successful combination of city-building and life simulation elements, larger city sizes, and more complex economic systems. The game's more extensive customization options and modding support have also been praised as features that extend its longevity.
Commercial Performance
Despite its troubled launch, SimCity sold well initially, moving over 1.1 million copies in its first two weeks. However, sales momentum quickly dropped following the server issues and negative word-of-mouth. EA eventually shifted focus to the SimCity BuildIt mobile game rather than producing expansions or sequels for the main title.
inZOI has demonstrated more sustained commercial success, with strong initial sales followed by consistent player engagement. The game's live service model, with regular updates and content additions, has helped maintain its player base over time.
