“The only thing left this year to save us from life sim malaise is Paralives, launching into early access on December 8,” PC Gamer simmer-for-life Lauren Morton wrote earlier this month about the fizzled “life sim revolution” she was anticipating for 2025. And now here I am to make her year even worse: Paralives has been delayed into 2026.
“This year, we ran many playtests with friends and fans, and we were confident that we could improve the game enough in time for December,” Paralives lead developer Alex Massé wrote in an apologetic missive on Steam. “In the lead-up to early access release, we broadened our playtests with a more varied playerbase, and the latest feedback we received made us realise the game isn’t up to the standard we wanted it to meet for release.
“Players enjoy the flexibility and the customization of the Paramaker and Build Mode. However, there are still impactful bugs in the Live Mode and a lack of activities to do in the town, which dampened the enjoyment of the players, and we feel it is necessary to work on these before delivering the product to the community.”
Talking about the challenges the Paralives dev team has overcome over the past six years, Massé said he’s “proud of what we have built,” but that the studio now needs “a bit more time to polish the simulation part of the game.”
The release date in this video is now a bit off the mark, but the rest is valid.
The “bit more time” is actually quite a chunk of it: Paralives is now slated to launch into early access on May 25, 2026, nearly six months later than the initial release date of December 8. The development roadmap has been updated to reflect what the studio will be working on between now and then, which will include “a focus on fixing important issues and improving the first-time user experience.”
The Paralives team will also hold a 45 minute stream on YouTube of “uninterrupted live mode gameplay” at 12 pm ET on November 25 to show off the current state of the game.
“We plan on keeping you all updated with streams and videos leading up to the new release date,” Massé wrote. “We remain fully committed to making a quality and innovative game with the support of the community and to updating it for years to come after release.”
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It’s always a bit disappointing to hear about delays, especially for something as exciting as Paralives. It’s great that the life sim genre continues to evolve, and hopefully, the extra time will lead to an even better game. Looking forward to what 2026 brings!
I completely understand your disappointment; delays can be frustrating. It’s worth noting, though, that taking extra time can often lead to a more polished final product. Hopefully, the wait for Paralives will be well worth it!
hat delays often lead to a more polished final product. Paralives has a lot of potential to innovate the genre, and hopefully, the extra time will allow the developers to refine their vision even further. It will be interesting to see how they incorporate player feedback during this extended development period!
Absolutely, delays can indeed result in a better game. It’s exciting to think about how Paralives might incorporate new features that haven’t been seen in other life sims yet, like more advanced customization options and diverse relationship dynamics. It’ll be interesting to see how these innovations shape the genre!
You’re right, delays can often lead to more polished experiences! I’m really looking forward to how Paralives will incorporate player-driven stories and customization, which could really set it apart from other life sims.