‘Paralives’ debuts with 1m wishlists

Paralives, a new life simulation game, aims to offer an indie take on the genre through open-world living, flexible home building, and customisable virtual characters. The sandbox experience places players in a town where residents build careers, form relationships, and develop personal stories shaped by player choice.

The title, which received over 1-million wishlists (lists of users who have expressed interest in buying the game), launches in Early Access on PC via Steam today (25 May 2026). The release was delayed from December last year, with the developers citing impactful bugs and concerns that the overall experience did not yet meet the standard the team wanted at launch.

Paralives has drawn attention as a potential challenger to The Sims, a franchise that has dominated the life simulation genre for more than two decades. The release joins a growing number of new entrants in the genre, including InZOI, which released last year.

Gameplay in Paralives focuses on everyday life and long-term progression. The town features shops, parks, restaurants, and museums. Players can guide residents through careers, friendships, rivalries, romance, and family life, with each decision influencing how their stories develop over time.

The simulation includes an advanced character creator called the Paramaker, offering control over appearance, clothing, personalities, emotions, needs, and skills. Players can control multiple Parafolks simultaneously for group activities and shared interactions.

Housing and architecture form another major focus. The building system supports grid-free construction, curved walls, split-level floors, and multi-storey structures, while furniture and decorative objects can be resized, recoloured, stacked, and positioned freely.

Modding support is available through an in-game interface and Steam Workshop integration, allowing players to share custom creations such as homes, characters, and additional content.

More systems and activities are planned throughout the Early Access period. Upcoming additions include weather and seasons, pets and horses, vehicles, swimming pools, boats, gardening, fishing, family trees, social events, and story progression for non-playable characters.

Where to play Paralives

Paralives is available on PC via Steam in Early Access. The developer team, led by Alex Massé, has said that all future additions released will arrive as free updates.