The Sims rivals Life by You canceled after third release delay

Life by You, a game positioned as a potential competitor to The Sims, has been canceled by Paradox Interactive.

Developed by Paradox Tectonic, the life simulation game has had a difficult development period.

A full trailer revealed in March 2023 received mixed reception, and an early access release – originally planned for September 2023 – was delayed three times.

After missing its third scheduled date on June 4, the game’s cancellation was confirmed in a post on the Paradox Interactive forums.

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“Unfortunately, we have decided to cancel the release of our long-awaited life simulation, Life by You,” said Mattias Lilja, Deputy CEO of Paradox Interactive. “This was an incredibly difficult decision to make and is a clear failure on the part of Paradox to meet our own and the community’s expectations.

“Life by You has been in the works for a long time and we are excited about the promise and potential of this game.

“We always hoped that it would be able to leave a mark in this new and exciting genre for us. That’s why we chose to delay it twice, to give the studio and the game a fair chance to achieve the potential that we saw.

“For each delay we have made, we have seen incremental improvements, which, in hindsight, may well lead us to focus on the details rather than the big picture.”

Lilja went on to say that after reassessing where the game stood, Paradox Interactive felt it remained “lacking in some key areas.”

Paradox considered giving the developer more time, but decided it was best to end the project.

“It became clear to us that the path to a release we had confidence in was far too long and uncertain,” Lilja explained.

“That’s not to say the game didn’t show promising qualities. Life by You had a number of strong points and the hard work of a dedicated team who worked to realize them.

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“However, when we have reached a point where we feel that more time will not get us close enough to a version that we would be happy with, then we think it is best to stop.

“This is obviously difficult and disappointing for everyone who has devoted their time and enthusiasm to this project, especially when our decision comes so late in the process.”

Paralives – another game seen as a potential competitor to The Sims – remains scheduled for an Early Access release on Steam in 2025. The developer said in February that all of its expansions would be free.

The Sims 4 is also preparing for its next expansion, scheduled for this summer and which should offer new gameplay for romances.

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