"The Sims" competition: Paradox Interactive discontinues "Life by You"

The life simulation "Life by You" was supposed to be the new big competitor to "The Sims". Expectations for the game were high. Now the release has turned into a drama in four acts. After postponing Early Access three times, Paradox Interactive has finally pulled the ripcord in the last act for the time being: "Life by You" will no longer be released. Just a month ago, the publisher postponed the release planned for June indefinitely. The game was actually due to be released for Early Access in September 2023.

Deputy CEO Mattias Lilja also explained in a forum post in the Paradox forum that there had been major improvements in each of the three shifts. However, it has recently become apparent that the game still has too many shortcomings in some important areas. Wester also pointed out the poor performance of recent releases in the press release from Paradox Interactive. The publisher is already approaching new projects differently, but it is also clear that further changes need to be made, said Wester.

Big names do not guarantee success

Paradox Tectonic, a subsidiary of Paradox Interactive, was responsible for developing the game. "Life by You" was to be the first major game from the studio founded in 2019. Paradox hired Rod Humble as Game Director, who had previously been jointly responsible for "The Sims". Humble was also previously Managing Director of "Second Life" developer Linden Lab.

With the discontinuation of "Life by You", "The Sims" from EA remains largely unrivalled on the market in the life simulation genre. The most recent spin-off of the series, "The Sims 4", is already almost ten years old. You can watch the old announcement trailer for "Life by You" again here.