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Paradox reveals Sims competitor Life by You

Paradox reveals Sims competitor Life by You

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The life simulation is led by veteran Rod Humble and is coming out in early access in September.

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A screenshot of the video game Life by You.
Life by You.
Image: Paradox

It looks like The Sims is getting some competition. As was teased earlier in the month, Paradox revealed an upcoming game called Life by You today, a life simulation title with development led by Rod Humble, who previously had significant roles on both The Sims franchise and Second Life. The game will be available in early access on September 12th on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Development on Life by You is being handled by a new internal studio, dubbed Paradox Tectonic, and according to the company, the game will “allows players to design and live out the lives of the humans that they create in an open game world where everything is customizable.” Essentially, it sounds a lot like The Sims but with more avenues for customization. The game is also described as an open world “without loading screens.”

In addition to standard creation tools for characters and the world itself as well as mod support, this focus on customization also includes “real language” conversations where “every real-language conversation is generated based on your human’s unique situation. You can even craft your own conversations in-game.” That’s a big shift from the gibberish Simlish language that has become an iconic part of The Sims franchise.

You can get an early glimpse at the game and some of its creation tools in the gallery below:

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Life by You evolves the life simulation genre with modern style, real language conversation, and unprecedented freedom of expression,” Humble said in a statement. “The game’s extensive customization tools allow for unparalleled levels of storytelling, and I can’t wait to see what creations players come up with once they dive into early access this summer.”

The news comes at a time when The Sims, too, is about to experience a big shift. The Sims 4, which is now free-to-play, is closing in on a decade since launch, and EA has slowly been teasing details about the next Sims experience, known now by the codename “Project Rene.” That game will feature both solo and multiplayer play, support cross-play across PC and mobile, and will utilize a more open development process with regular updates in the lead-up to launch (the date of which is likely quite a ways away).

It sounds like Life by You will similarly be open, with Paradox describing the early access period as “a shared experience where the community’s feedback will impact on priorities, content ideas, and development as the team brings the game to full-launch.”