If you're hungry for information on Paradox Tectonic's upcoming game Life by You, you're in the right place! It's shaping up to be a truly unique competitor to The Sims. In this guide, we'll share everything we know about the Life by You release date.
Looking beneath the superficial similarities, it's clear that Life By You is aiming to provide a more in-depth experience than The Sims. Players are given the tools to modify the properties of objects as they see fit, and making the modding process easy to pick up like this should be great for increasing the game's longevity.
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When is the Life by You release date?
Life by You will launch in early access on March 5, 2024. The game's developers have stated that they "anticipate the game will be in early access for at least 12 months," and justified their decision saying:
"We chose early access because we want to build this game together, with you. We aim to be transparent, listen to and incorporate feedback from the community, and [prioritise] what you want to see most during our Early Access period. Life is a huge topic, and life simulation is only limited by your imagination, so we know that there’s a lot we can add with your input."
Life by You's planned release date
What platforms is Life by You on?
Life by You is confirmed to be coming to Windows PC via Steam and Epic, with no news of a console release or the game coming to platforms like GOG.
Everything we know about Life by You
Most of the game's frequently asked questions pages are focused on the decision to launch in early access, but you'll likely have lots of questions about what, specifically, makes Life by You different to competitors like The Sims.
One of Life by You's main selling points is that it's being directed by Rod Humble, best known for his work on The Sims 2 and 3. The game's trailers and blog posts have steadily provided information, which we've split into sections and listed below.
Modding and customisation in Life by You
The game is aiming to be 'one of the most moddable' life simulation games where 'everything is customisable,' and will provide a variety of tools to meet that goal.
- The game will feature a visual scripting language based on C#
- Heavy customisation and sharing options have been promised
- Furniture and clothes' colours can be changed with hex codes
- A 'conversation editor' will let players create their own dialogue
- Similar systems exist for items, quests, events, recipes and more
- Buildings' baseboards and trims can be edited
- Building off-grid is supported
- Custom designs for walls and floors can be made and used
- Buildings like the food mart can be moved or made from scratch
- Players can create unique skills and traits from scratch
- 'Cheats' can be toggled
- Guidelines will be provided to help first-time and experienced modders
Characters in Life by You
Part of the appeal of games like The Sims is the characters you can make and terrible things you can put them through; Life by You is aiming to provide more depth, so it'll be interesting to see if it can deliver on everything promised.
- Players can actually talk to other characters through dialogue trees
- Any character can be controlled at any time
- Characters not being controlled will still eat, sleep, work and socialise
- Children may not be included in the game's early access launch
- Characters have life stages but age slowly, getting one year older after each in-game birthday
- Adult characters can progress in their careers
- There will be clothing and hair physics
- Characters can observe others to learn from them and make memories
- The game will feature nudity and an option to remove it
How much is Life by You?
The game can currently be pre-purchased on Epic Games for £34.99 GBP / $39.99 USD, with early buyers getting treated to the 'Life Begins' pack. This includes:
- Jumpstart fashion pack
- Vintage scooter vehicle
- Walls to floor decor pack
- Access to a private discord server for the first 100,000 buyers
The game's FAQs page is clear that prices will increase after the game officially launches, so anyone looking for a bargain will need to jump on the game while it's still in early access.
That's everything we know right now, but this article will be updated with any new information that releases. For more on the latest games, check out the system requirements of Star Wars: Outlaws, or the new rumours of Half-Life 3.