Upcoming Sims-like life simulator Paralives has been hit with a heartbreaking Early Access release date delay, developer Paralives Studio has confirmed. While initially planned to hit Early Access on December 8, players will have to wait a little longer to get their hands on Paralives.
The search for a true heir to The Sims‘ crown in the life simulator genre goes on. Earlier this year, InZOI entered Early Access from Krafton and made a huge initial splash into the space. However, despite strong initial sales, InZOI‘s player count quickly fell off, and whether it can regain those players in the future remains to be seen. Paralives, which was first announced back in 2019, may view InZOI as a cautionary tale of entering Early Access before there’s enough content to keep players around for the long haul.
Paralives Early Access Delayed Until May 2026
In an announcement on Bluesky, the Paralives team confirmed that the planned December 8 Early Access release date has been postponed until May 25, 2026. In the statement, the developer said that “the latest feedback we received made us realise the game isn’t up the standard we wanted it to meet for release,” describing “impactful bugs in the Live Mode and a lack of activities to do in the town, which dampened the enjoyment of the players.”
The developer is aware that comparisons to The Sims are inevitable, making it all the more important that Paralives is in a good state at release, even in Early Access. According to the developer, the delay “will ensure that more players will be happy with the state of the game at launch when comparing it to other great life simulation games that sparked everyone’s love for the genre.” So, while sad that Paralives is now moving to May 2026, it’s certainly better to wait for the game to be ready than to release and disappoint while half-baked.
In the meantime, Paralives Studio will be live-streaming 45 minutes of uninterrupted Paralives gameplay on November 25, giving players a look at the currrent state of the game. There will be further streams as that May 25, 2026 release date looms, which should provide some insight on what to expect from Paralives‘ Early Access period. It has an undoubtedly difficult task if it really wants to compete with The Sims at the pinnacle of the life sim genre, but this kind of transparency from the developer is crucial on the road to success.
- Released
-
May 25, 2026
- Developer(s)
-
Paralives Studio
- Publisher(s)
-
Paralives Studio
- Engine
-
Unity
- Number of Players
-
Single-player
