Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Pokemon Winds and Waves
  • New Games for 2026
  • GamesRadar+ Replay
  • Mario Day deals
Don't miss these
The Sims 4 burglar
The Sims The Sims 4 Marketplace is coming with paid mods – because that's definitely what fans of EA's life sim want
A masked boss from the trailer for Crimson Desert, holding a knife.
RPGs Crimson Desert was announced "too early," devs admit, and now has to prove it's not "too good to be true"
Highguard
FPS Games Highguard boasted numbers "similar to what we saw at launch with Apex," says the doomed shooter's lead
Dragon Age 2
Dragon Age Dragon Age 2 was originally planned to be "much bigger" before EA made other demands, says series lead
Key art for Highguard showing Kai riding a bear, Atticus with the Shieldbreaker, and Scarlet, crouched, aiming down sights
FPS Games Ex Highguard developers blame "hubris" for the game's failure in new report
Assassin's Creed games in order: All of the current Assassin's Creed protagonists on a misty white background.
Games Former Ubisoft vet says Assassin's Creed developer is "hated" by "many of their own" devs, but there's still hope for it
The Sims 4 tattoo artist career
The Sims The Sims 4 Marketplace sparks angry fan reactions and comparisons to paid Fallout and Skyrim mods
The Sims 5 Project Rene: a purple screenshot of the the upcoming game.
Simulation Games Project Rene: Everything we know about the future of The Sims
Load screen artwork for Atticus in Highguard, leaping in front of clouds with a charged lightning spear
FPS Games Games like Highguard are just "gambling by investors" who "know ahead of time a flop is likely," says indie legend
Highguard character in leather armor holding a rifle
FPS Games Highguard lead says "everyone has their thoughts on why the game failed to find an audience," but "many are way off"
Highguard character in purple and black armor
FPS Games "There's no way this will flop": Laid-off Highguard dev says internal sentiment was high "but then the trailer came out"
Esoteric Ebb cleric in a pile of apples
RPGs RPG dev of "Planescape Torment + Disco Elysium" spent 8 years struggling to pay rent and writing over 1 million words
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Games Ubisoft CEO admits the company spun up "too many projects" which are now widely canceled due to bad bets during Covid
Slay the Spire 2
Roguelike Games Slay the Spire 2 scares devs into early release after fearing losing fans to "an absolute juggernaut in our own genre"
Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 marketing lead hands Sony some advice after multiplayer fails: "Every experience is a shared experience"
  1. Games
  2. Simulation Games
  3. Life By You

Would-be The Sims competitor Life By You was canceled because publisher Paradox realized "everything will be worse if we keep going, so we have to stop"

News
By Anna Koselke published 8 October 2024

The life sim had one too many "flaws"

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Life By You
(Image credit: Paradox Interactive)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Delayed without a new release date just weeks before its cancellation, it seems that Life By You stood no chance - and publisher Paradox Interactive explains why.

Speaking in a recent interview with Eurogamer, chief creative officer Henrik Fåhraeus and deputy CEO Mattias Lilja discuss how sometimes "you go on too far and hope that you fix it, or steer it in another direction than we thought originally." According to the publishing leads, Life By You is an example of both scenarios - there was simply too much wrong with the potential Sims 4 competitor to fix it.

"We trusted the devs quite a lot," describes Lilja. "We thought maybe another extension will get us where we're going and then finally realized everything will be worse if we keep going, so we have to stop." As noted by Fåhraeus, "A lot of the flaws were super clear and we saw the flaws individually." There just wasn't enough time to address them in the end, however - especially after so much had already been spent on mending the game's issues.

You may like
  • Two characters passionately kiss in the canceled life sim Burbank XCOM boss Jake Solomon shares AI-powered build of The Sims meets The Truman Show "before we close the doors"
  • The Sims 5 Project Rene: a purple screenshot of the the upcoming game. Project Rene: Everything we know about the future of The Sims
  • Highguard character in leather armor holding a rifle Highguard was "doomed," says indie veteran, and "now you have a developer still unable to believe they made a bad game"

"We got closer and closer to early access," the CCO continues, "trying to focus on fixing each individual problem." Eventually, Paradox realized that "it's too late, we've not been seeing the forest here." The team couldn't find a "single thing here that can actually compete viably in terms of gameplay. While early access can indeed be "very" useful, "you have to have something that is super tight already" - and Life By You, sadly, just wasn't.

While there's no Life By You, here are 10 games like The Sims 4 to check out instead.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
The Sims PC Gaming Platforms
Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Social Links Navigation
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

Read more
Two characters passionately kiss in the canceled life sim Burbank
XCOM boss Jake Solomon shares AI-powered build of The Sims meets The Truman Show "before we close the doors"
 
 
The Sims 5 Project Rene: a purple screenshot of the the upcoming game.
Project Rene: Everything we know about the future of The Sims
 
 
Highguard character in leather armor holding a rifle
Highguard was "doomed," says indie veteran, and "now you have a developer still unable to believe they made a bad game"
 
 
Screenshot of Anthem machine pilot lying on the leafy ground with visor open
Dragon Age veteran says scrapped Anthem Next "could have been" up there with No Man's Sky's legendary turnaround
 
 
Highguard character in leather armor holding a rifle
Highguard lead says "everyone has their thoughts on why the game failed to find an audience," but "many are way off"
 
 
Key art for Highguard showing Kai riding a bear, Atticus with the Shieldbreaker, and Scarlet, crouched, aiming down sights
Ex Highguard developers blame "hubris" for the game's failure in new report
 
 
Latest in Simulation Games
Sorcerer Incremental codes: A white-haired ninja.
Sorcerer Incremental codes (March 2026) for weapon rolls and more
 
 
Fruit Piece Incremental codes
Fruit Piece Incremental codes (March 2026) and how to redeem them for free Beli, Scrolls, Rolls, and more
 
 
The Sims 4 tattoo artist career
The Sims 4 Marketplace sparks angry fan reactions and comparisons to paid Fallout and Skyrim mods
 
 
The Sims 4 burglar
The Sims 4 Marketplace is coming with paid mods – because that's definitely what fans of EA's life sim want
 
 
Turquoise
Subnautica's rare cozy moments meet my favorite Windows 98 screensaver in this relaxing new life sim
 
 
Stardew Valley goblin
ConcernedApe reveals he "completely scrapped" Stardew Valley goblin villages, and fans "just want" the axed feature now
 
 
Latest in News
Palworld Pal with shocked expression
"I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation"
 
 
Dafne Keen brandishing her claws as Laura/X-23 in Deadpool and Wolverine
Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
 
 
Peak mesa biome
Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads to see whose game would sell more
 
 
Key art for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred showing Mephisto, a spiky and angular demon, against a red, lightning backdrop, arm and claw raised menancingly, cropped to show more of him
Diablo 4's Lord of Hatred expansion will be "really f*cking hard" at its highest difficulty, dev threatens
 
 
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu standing in a row
Samurai Champloo is getting a live-action Netflix series from One Piece studio, and the original creator is on board
 
 
Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in the It: Welcome to Derry finale
It: Welcome to Derry season 2 is officially in the works, as showrunner promises "something greater" than season 1
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Key art for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred showing Mephisto, a spiky and angular demon, against a red, lightning backdrop, arm and claw raised menancingly, cropped to show more of him
    1
    "It's going to be really f***ing hard": Diablo 4 is getting 8 new difficulty tiers in Lord of Hatred because Blizzard wants OP builds to actually have to try
  2. 2
    Marvel fans are debating whether Dafne Keen should become Wolverine or stay as X-23, and I've already chosen a side
  3. 3
    "I wouldn't rule out a Palworld 2.0," says Pocketpair publishing head, but don't expect a "No Man's Sky situation" with a "decade of continuous, massive updates"
  4. 4
    "Whoever sells more copies pays for the other's therapy": Peak came about after a bet between Content Warning and Another Crab's Treasure leads, and ironically the friendslop collab that followed sold more than both games combined
  5. 5
    Samurai Champloo is returning as a live-action Netflix series from One Piece adaptation team, and the original creator is on board: "We've learned" after Cowboy Bebop

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...