If you were waiting on Life by You, Paralives is the closest surviving alternative on Steam today.
How Life by You ended: the full timeline
- March 2023
Reveal — Paradox announces Life by You: an open-world life sim from Paradox Tectonic, the studio led by longtime Sims veteran Rod Humble.
- September 2023
First Early Access target — and the first slip. The launch window moves; it is the first of three postponements.
- Early 2024
After three postponements, Early Access is set for June 4, 2024.
- May 2024
Indefinite delay — weeks before the planned June 4 launch, Paradox pulls the date with no replacement.
- June 2024
Cancellation — Paradox cancels Life by You outright and closes Paradox Tectonic. CEO Fredrik Wester's stated reason: the game remained too far from the quality bar to ship.
- Aftermath
The game never launched, its Steam page is gone, and it cannot be bought or played. Paralives and inZOI are the life-sim alternatives that actually shipped.
- Actively shipping vs. cancelled
- Hand-painted art has a distinct identity
- Smaller scope already feels feature-complete in build mode
- (none, no longer available)
Paralives vs Life by You, feature by feature
Read each row left to right. The tinted cell is the side that wins that round.
| Feature | Paralives | Life by You |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Actively shipping on Steam | Cancelled mid-early-access |
| Active development | Ongoing patches and roadmap | Shut down in 2024 |
| Modding ambition | Built-in Steam Workshop | Promised deep Python scripting |
| World design | Open neighbourhood, hand-painted | Planned fully open world |
| Conversation system | Curated interactions | Promised editable dialogue |
| Art identity | Distinct hand-painted look | Realistic but generic |
Paralives vs Life by You: FAQ
- Is Life by You cancelled?
- Yes. Paradox Tectonic shut the project down during early access in 2024, before a full release. It is no longer purchasable or playable.
- Is Paralives a replacement for Life by You?
- It's the closest one that is actually shipping. Paralives shares the open-neighbourhood, single-player, sandbox spirit Life by You aimed for, and it is available on Steam today instead of cancelled.
- What happened to Paradox's life sim?
- Paradox cited quality and market-fit concerns and cancelled Life by You during early access, then wound down the studio. For fans, Paralives is now the main indie life sim still in active development.
- Can I still buy or play Life by You?
- No. Paradox cancelled the project in mid-2024, delisted it, and it is no longer purchasable or playable — even for existing owners.
- What should former Life by You players play instead?
- Paralives is the closest surviving life sim on Steam for that audience — the same everyday-life ambition, now in active Early Access. The Sims 4 remains the content-rich alternative.