InZOI releases in Early Access on March 28, 2025. As the first major newcomer in the life sim genre that could be considered as major competition to The Sims 4, comparisons between InZOI and The Sims 4 are somewhat inevitable. While the two games have marked differences, particularly in goal and art style, they do occupy the same genre and can learn from each other.
One feature that plays an important role in gameplay is life stages. Life stages dictate how long a Sim or Zoi lives, the stages of their lives, and the activities they do. Life stages have been a part of The Sims since The Sims 2, and will be included in InZOI from Early Access. InZOI may have an advantage over The Sims 4, as it already includes a life stage that Simmers have been requesting for several years, and is desperately needed in The Sims 4.
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The Sims 4’s Life Stages
While The Sims 4 has dominated the life sim space since it launched in 2000, it isn’t without room for improvement. The Sims 4 launched without Toddlers, which it fixed when it added them in a free update years later. EA would later go on to add Infants, a completely new life stage, and change Babies to Newborns. These were big changes, and while the Toddler update was free, and Infants also arrived in a free update, most Infant content was locked behind the expansion pack The Sims 4: Growing Together.
The Sims 4 currently has eight life stages:
- Newborn
- Infant
- Toddler
- Child
- Teen
- Young Adult
- Adult
- Elder
However, despite all these changes to life stages since launch, there is still room for improvement, especially to bridge the gap between Child and Teen. Some Simmers have complained that the age difference between Child and Teen Sims is far too big, with Child Sims appearing to be between eight to eleven years old, while Teens have the appearance of seventeen to eighteen. A life stage in-between this to bridge the gap would be welcomed, as many find this transition to be jarring.
InZOI’s Life Stages
InZOI also has life stages, but they differ from The Sims 4‘s life stages in that there are several more of them. This includes an adolescent life stage, which will cover the equivalent of the ages of eleven to fifteen years old. There are nine life stages currently planned for InZOI‘s full launch, but only six will be available for InZOI‘s Early Access launch, with the rest to be added later.
The life stages for InZOI will be:
- Newborn
- Toddler
- Child (Available in Early Access)
- Adolescent
- Teen (Available in Early Access)
- Young Adult (Available in Early Access)
- Adult (Available in Early Access)
- Middle-Aged (Available in Early Access)
- Senior (Available in Early Access)
Like The Sims 4, Zois will age up into the next life stage in a single moment, rather than transitioning slowly over time. However, having more stages between each life stage should make the transition appear smoother and feel less jarring for players. The adolescent life stage in particular has been requested by The Sims 4 community for a long time, and including it in InZOI gives it a big advantage over The Sims 4. The final life stages should be included in InZOI‘s May, October, or December’s planned Early Access updates in 2025.
