There’s The Sims obviously but that formula is 20+ years old and kind of dated. There are others that focus on farming or specific careers but they’re not really general life sims. Imagine a really in depth, triple-A buget life sim where you live in a open world type city, can socialize, have a job, hobbies, explore, just do whatever. I guess like GTA but without the crime element and more immersive and customizable. Would there be an audience for this?
Not sure why no one has really copied and improved on the Sims. Seems like a missed opportunity/gap in the market. People love the Sims.
Not really like GTA but still a “life sim”
Literally one being developed by the guys who made pub g.
Will it be good? Probably not. But it is being made.
I’d guess that there’s a lot of complexity involved in constructing deep mechanics with emergent gameplay properties, that at the same time don’t bog down the player by bombarding them with things to micromanage.
Give it six months. This year’s Nintendo direct was all life Sims.