In what feels like a cold shower for life sim players who were looking forward to The Sims' first major competitor to be launched this summer, Life By You is back again, with Life Sim, led by Rod Humble, the head of the late former Sims Studios, not starting early access on May 4 as planned, with a new release. You have not selected a service date.

"This was not an easy decision, especially because we understand the expectations and excitement that many players have for the game,"Paradox Interactive announced that "But we believe that additional development time is needed."

"We wanted to commit to a new release window, but we believe it would be wiser to postpone it while we plan ahead, rather than commit to a new date that we are not sure we will meet."

This is not the first time your life has been delayed. It was originally scheduled for 2023/9, but was postponed to 2024/3, and then to 6/4. Now, just 2 weeks before that scheduled early access date, it's delayed with no commitment to a new date.

Indeed, it is not news that gives confidence. But Paradox may not be particularly confident right now. Other big simulation game Cities: Skyline 2 warned developers to "manage their expectations for performance" and the first DLC for the subsequent patch 3 month was also a disaster, with Paradox apologizing and offering a refund. 

It's a bit of a healthy competition that, as I've been saying every week lately, the Sims series has been really long overdue. Although it was originally planned to launch, there are several different Life sim start-ups other than Life by you in the works. It's a shame to start with the wrong foot, so perhaps the latest delay is still the best one.

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, creative director Rod Humble said he believes life sims is actually "the most complex Rpg ever written.""