{"id":1960100,"date":"2026-05-28T16:04:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1960100"},"modified":"2026-05-28T16:04:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T13:04:47","slug":"unlike-the-sims-early-access-hit-paralives-will-never-have-paid-dlc-and-will-stick-to-free-updates-devs-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1960100","title":{"rendered":"Unlike The Sims, early access hit Paralives will &#8220;never&#8221; have paid DLC and will stick to free updates, devs say"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paralives\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Paralives<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Unlike The Sims, early access hit Paralives will &#8220;never&#8221; have paid DLC and will stick to free updates, devs say<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;We are happy to deliver that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Paralives_family.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"A family in Paralives\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Paralives_family.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Paralives Studio<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-28T16:04:47+00:00\">May 28, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"9d76b4d0-5684-46a6-9a1a-19d2ebcd1afb\" data-name=\"Paralives\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Paralives\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Paralives\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Paralives\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Paralives\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Paralives\" title=\"Follow Paralives\"><br \/>\n  Follow Paralives<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Though we&#8217;d known about it for quite some time, breezy life simulator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paralives\">Paralives<\/a> has managed to become one of this month&#8217;s surprise hits. With <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/news\/app\/1118520\/view\/695387676933621101\">over 250k copies sold<\/a> in less than eight hours, it was off to a great start on Steam earlier this week, and now the developers are promising no paid DLC will be released.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s exactly what lead developer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alexmasse.com\/\">Alex Mass\u00e9<\/a> of Paralives Studio said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Games\/comments\/1tohn7z\/comment\/oo6pcuv\/\">during a Reddit AMA<\/a>: &#8220;There will never be paid DLCs, only free updates! Even after the Early Access. As life sim fans, we wanted to make a game we would like to play ourselves without the need to purchase a lot of extra content and we are happy to deliver that.&#8221; Comparisons to EA&#8217;s The Sims series are obvious, and this stance &#8211; now backed by the game&#8217;s success &#8211; feels like a direct answer to life sim fans&#8217; demands over the years.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Paralives &#8211; Official Early Access Launch Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VTfP6O7vSOU\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Because the team is small (only 15 people), the sales we made so far will sustain us for many years, even if we increase the size of the team so we&#8217;re safe and really grateful for that,&#8221; they added. It&#8217;s sound logic which signals Alex Mass\u00e9 and his team are looking to stay sustainable versus growing too much too fast.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>While the game&#8217;s current total sales number is unknown, 250k units sold in less than half a day is a mighty feat for a team that&#8217;s been flying under many radars, despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/indie-sims-like-paralives-delays-early-access-release-into-next-year-after-playtests-prove-it-isnt-up-to-the-standard-we-wanted-it-to-meet\">Paralives earning notable support in the road to early access<\/a>. The game even hit a respectable <a href=\"https:\/\/steamdb.info\/app\/1118520\/charts\/\">78,603 peak of concurrent players<\/a> three days ago. The studio&#8217;s stance will also no doubt be popular given the notoriety of its rivals &#8211; namely The Sims &#8211; when it comes to charging a small fortune for similarly small additions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/paralives-perfect-tranquil-tonic-chaos-the-sims\">Eurogamer&#8217;s Matt Wales has been enjoying his time with Paralives<\/a>, noting it&#8217;s &#8220;an incredibly promising start&#8221; in its current shape that &#8220;makes for an Instagram-ready rendition of life that feels about as far removed from the chaos of The Sims as you can get&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Though we&#8217;d known about it for quite some time, breezy life simulator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/paralives\">Paralives<\/a> has managed to become one of this month&#8217;s surprise hits. With <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/news\/app\/1118520\/view\/695387676933621101\">over 250k copies sold<\/a> in less than eight hours, it was off to a great start on Steam earlier this week, and now the developers are promising no paid DLC will be released.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s exactly what lead developer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alexmasse.com\/\">Alex Mass\u00e9<\/a> of Paralives Studio said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Games\/comments\/1tohn7z\/comment\/oo6pcuv\/\">during a Reddit AMA<\/a>: &#8220;There will never be paid DLCs, only free updates! Even after the Early Access. As life sim fans, we wanted to make a game we would like to play ourselves without the need to purchase a lot of extra content and we are happy to deliver that.&#8221; Comparisons to EA&#8217;s The Sims series are obvious, and this stance &#8211; now backed by the game&#8217;s success &#8211; feels like a direct answer to life sim fans&#8217; demands over the years.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Paralives &#8211; Official Early Access Launch Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VTfP6O7vSOU\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Because the team is small (only 15 people), the sales we made so far will sustain us for many years, even if we increase the size of the team so we&#8217;re safe and really grateful for that,&#8221; they added. It&#8217;s sound logic which signals Alex Mass\u00e9 and his team are looking to stay sustainable versus growing too much too fast.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>While the game&#8217;s current total sales number is unknown, 250k units sold in less than half a day is a mighty feat for a team that&#8217;s been flying under many radars, despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/indie-sims-like-paralives-delays-early-access-release-into-next-year-after-playtests-prove-it-isnt-up-to-the-standard-we-wanted-it-to-meet\">Paralives earning notable support in the road to early access<\/a>. The game even hit a respectable <a href=\"https:\/\/steamdb.info\/app\/1118520\/charts\/\">78,603 peak of concurrent players<\/a> three days ago. The studio&#8217;s stance will also no doubt be popular given the notoriety of its rivals &#8211; namely The Sims &#8211; when it comes to charging a small fortune for similarly small additions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/paralives-perfect-tranquil-tonic-chaos-the-sims\">Eurogamer&#8217;s Matt Wales has been enjoying his time with Paralives<\/a>, noting it&#8217;s &#8220;an incredibly promising start&#8221; in its current shape that &#8220;makes for an Instagram-ready rendition of life that feels about as far removed from the chaos of The Sims as you can get&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Paralives Unlike The Sims, early access hit Paralives will &#8220;never&#8221; have paid DLC and will stick to free updates, devs say &#8220;We are happy to deliver that.&#8221; Image credit: Paralives Studio News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on May 28, 2026 Follow Paralives Though we&#8217;d known about it for quite some time, breezy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1960100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1960100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1960100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1960100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1960100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1960100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1960100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}