An early preview of the upcoming lifesim video game inZOI has confirmed that its character creation tool will not only require players to select their characters’ ‘body type’ instead of gender, but also allow for them to be depicted as explicitly non-binary.
Currently under development from South Korean-based developer Krafton Inc. – who players may recognize as both the recent buyers of Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks and publisher of PUBG: Battleground – inZOI allows players the freedom to create and control the lives and living conditions of their own cast of custom ‘Zois’.
As players could likely tell from even the briefest glance at its trailer, inZOI‘s gameplay is very reminiscent of The Sims.
However, what distinguishes the up-and-comer from its predecessor is not only is graphics, which present a far more immersive visual setting than the The Sims‘ cartoon aesthetics, but also its the fact that it allows for players a much deeper experience, in doing so allowing them to actively engage in their given life events.
Claw games are just as hard to win in inZOI (TBA), Krafton
Notably, upon its announcement in 2023, many players began to herald inZOI as a distinctly ‘non-identity politics-laden’ alternative to EA’s popular genre-definer, particularly because it allowed for the creation of actually outright attractive characters.
Unfortunately for those optimists, it seems their read of the title was, to say the least, pre-mature.
On August 21st, Krafton released an early build of inZOI‘s Character Studio to the public, in doing so opening the floodgates for players to start crafting their own unique Zois.
As a result, players such as Twitter user @N_Sushumna soon discovered that rather than allowing players to select their Zois’ gender, they were instead required to select their ‘body type’.
Archive Link @N_Sushuma via TwitterAdditionally, as noted by Reddit user /u/hopeful_deer, the game will also allow players to specifically choose their “sexual identity”, the presented options including ‘male’, ‘female’, and ‘non-binary’.
Further, players will also be able to select which of these three identities their respective Zoi will be attracted to.
A screenshot provided by /u/hopeful_deer showing off the Sexual Identity options in inZOI (TBA), Krafton
Given Krafton’s response to the unrelated ‘controversy’ over the fact that the character creator’s ‘heaviest’ setting only allows for Zois to be mildly chubby instead of actually fat, it’s unlikely that they’ll move to remove the aforementioned settings any time soon.
Pressed by players disappointed with the above discovery, Krafton tweeted on August 22nd “Hello, everyone! We have seen many discussions related to the diversity of character customization in the community. inZOI is still in the development stage, and there are many areas that need to be improved. Especially, we are facing some technical challenges when it comes to adjusting body shape. We are truly sorry that we are not offering the full function at the current stage. We fully understand the importance of this feature, and we will try our best to bring much improved version next time.”
“We highly appreciate your feedback, and we will continue to listen to your voices and reflect them in the future,” the developer concluded. “Once again, we sincerely thank everyone for all the feedback.”
Archive Link inZOI (@PlayinZOI) via Twitter
At present, inZOI does not currently have a scheduled release date.
