InZOI Celebrates Its First Anniversary and Reveals Ambitious 2026 Roadmap: Schools, Careers, Prisons, and Canvastown
Exactly one year ago, on March 28, 2025, InZOI entered early access on Steam. Since then, the game has come a long way — from a nervous launch to stable updates that added flower shops, movie theaters, a mini‑map, drivable cars, and even car theft. To mark the anniversary, producer Kjun released a detailed 2026 roadmap featuring new content, stability improvements, and long‑awaited support for script mods.
Source: playinzoi.com
Kjun’s Heartfelt Anniversary Letter
Kjun’s anniversary message turned out to be unexpectedly personal. He admitted that a year ago, before the early access launch, he felt “more anxiety than excitement.” The team released a demo a week before release — an inefficient decision from a development standpoint, but a necessary one so players could try the game first and not spend money if it wasn’t for them.
“A year ago, I wasn’t asking players to buy the game. If anything, I was closer to asking them not to,” Kjun writes.
He recalls bringing his personal computers to the office to test stability across different hardware, spending weekends trying to fix bugs. Despite all the difficulties, players stayed and supported the game for an entire year. As a token of gratitude, the developers added a special anniversary cake to the game — when sliced, it reveals a secret message.
Source: playinzoi.com
In his message, Kjun also recommended a book to players: The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, explaining that the Stoic philosophy of accepting what you cannot control aligns with the emotional direction the team is building into InZOI.
Fundamentals First: Stability Above All
In 2026, the team continues the “Fundamentals First” program, which launched late last year. So far, 55 items on this plan have been successfully completed. In April, developers plan to slow the pace of adding new features and focus on bug fixes and polishing existing content that was added quickly to meet previous schedules.
The main goals for April are “full‑scale stability improvement and optimization”:
- Expanded graphics settings
- System memory optimization
Previously, under Fundamentals First, many aspects were already improved: umbrellas are now held in the left hand so Sims can carry other items simultaneously; customizable key mapping was added; group movement was improved (Sims walk side‑by‑side instead of single‑file and can talk while moving); reactions to TV channel changes were reworked, and much more.
New Content for 2026: From Schools to Prisons
In 2026, InZOI will receive several major free updates featuring new systems and features.
April — Jobs & Freelancing
The career system will be significantly expanded. Interviews, promotions, collaborative tasks, vacations, remote work, and a retirement/pension system will be added. Alongside this, a new freelancing system will be introduced, including package delivery. The revenue model for created content will shift from one‑time earnings to a weekly income system.
Source: playinzoi.com
May — High School Life
A full high school system will come to the game. Players will be able to experience school life — classes, exams, prom, and graduation — alongside unique classmates. The existing rabbit‑hole system will be complemented with the option to attend school in person.
Source: playinzoi.com
July — Travel, Resort Improvements, and Prison
Players will be able not only to immigrate between cities but also to travel. The Cahaya resort region will receive more content. A prison system will also be introduced — with the possibility of serving sentences — along with improvements to family trees and cross‑city connections for Zois.
Source: playinzoi.com
September — Festivals & Vehicle Interactions
City festivals and user‑created holidays will appear on the calendar. Vehicle interactions will expand to include repairs, car washes, audio systems, in‑car conversations, taxi calls, and working as a taxi driver.
Source: playinzoi.com
October — Karma
A new system will track changes in a Zoi’s karma throughout their life. The karma report will gain a summary feature.
December — Fame, Reputation, and Social Media
The final update of the year will add content related to celebrities, influencers, social media, performances, fame, and reputation. The game promises to become more dynamic and full of surprises.
Source: playinzoi.com
Modding: Script Mods and User‑Friendly Tools
Based on a survey conducted late last year, the team confirmed strong demand for script mods. Development of this feature is accelerating, and depending on progress, it could arrive as early as summer 2026.
What’s planned for modding development:
Improved mod support. A GUI will be added for easier use of cheats and mod configuration.
Modder‑friendly environment. An HTML‑based interface for more intuitive and efficient mod creation.
Direct communication. Dedicated support staff will be available on Discord for quick responses.
Expansion of ModKit. Gradual addition of support for accessories, animations, face mods (with a MetaHuman guide), sounds, and by the end of the year — Lua scripts.
Canvastown: A Place for Stories
Canvastown deserves special attention — a new system that will allow players to save and share not just builds and characters, but entire gameplay situations and stories.
The idea is that even in high‑freedom simulators, interesting moments don’t always emerge on their own. Canvastown will act like a YouTube for the game, where players can upload their unique scenarios (complete with mods, cheats, and special conditions), and others can download and experience them.
These saves can be played either solo with NPCs or with a small group of friends in multiplayer. The goal is to create a User‑Generated Content (UGC) ecosystem where players themselves expand the game’s possibilities in areas the development team can’t cover.
Source: playinzoi.com
Canvastown development is running parallel to inZOI‑online. The first test build is planned as soon as possible, but first, existing systems must be stable. According to preliminary information, Canvastown #1 — a small settlement of about 40 lots — is expected in June 2026.
Community Reaction: “InZOI Has Turned Into GTA”
The anniversary update released on March 26 has already drawn strong reactions. Players were especially impressed by the ability to steal cars — commenters joke that the game now has “GTA mode.” Users write: “We got GTA in inZOI before GTA VI.”
Still, Kjun emphasizes that the main goal for the coming year is not the quantity of new content, but stability and depth. For the first time in a long while, life simulation developers are speaking openly: the game is not yet perfect, and it needs to be refined.
“If I could go back to the beginning of development, I might hesitate before choosing this genre again. The development difficulty is extremely high, and it’s really hard to deliver proportional enjoyment for the effort spent. Perhaps that’s why there are so few games in this genre,” Kjun admits.
Despite the challenges, the dialogue with players has become a source of happiness for him. Unlike EA, which according to insiders ignores criticism on social media, Krafton continues to publish detailed plans, gather feedback, and act accordingly.
