Hello.
It’s a wonderful Friday. The weather in Korea has been getting much nicer lately.
Today, I have multiple news to share.
First, an announcement about the inZOI “Next Engine Preview” Beta Branch Test.
We are currently in the process of upgrading inZOI’s Unreal Engine from version 5.4 to 5.6. To verify the stability and compatibility of the newly integrated engine code in a real gameplay environment, we will be conducting a beta branch test.
This build is primarily focused on bug fixes and overall stability improvements. If the test results are positive, we plan to include these changes in the March update. (Yes, there will be another update in March — the inZOI team is working very hard! 
)
However, to properly verify stability, we truly need many of you to participate and play this build. ^^
Your existing save files will remain fully compatible, so you can join without any additional preparation.
Please note that mod usage will be restricted in the beta branch for stability testing purposes.
Your participation and feedback will greatly help ensure a stable update for the official branch.
◆ Participation Period
- Thursday, March 5, 2026 ~ Until the official engine upgrade release
※ Available on Steam only.
◆ How to Participate (Detailed instructions will be included in next week’s patch notes)
- Select inZOI in your Steam Library
- Right-click → Open Properties
- Go to the “Game Versions & Betas” menu
- Select “next_engine” from the beta branch list
※ The selected version will download automatically after choosing the beta branch.
Second, this week we will be sharing various development updates through a video.
Please enjoy watching it, and let me know if we are listening carefully to your feedback and making the right improvements. 
Thanks to all your valuable feedback, I had another happy week.
We will continue doing our best to create the best possible game.
See you next week.
kjun 
Kjun’s Reply to Your Comments
Hello everyone.
Thank you so much for all the posts this week — I’ve been reading for hours and I’m writing this while I’m still going through them. You shared a lot of feedback and suggestions on feature improvements, bug fixes, better user experience, and the future direction of the game, and I’ve already been discussing some of them with the dev team as I read.
Especially this week, we got a lot of posts about Character Creation, UI improvements, body representation, family & social interactions, and ghost gameplay.
UI & Character Creation Improvements
Along with the positive reactions to the new UI design, many of you asked for the emotion indicator bar to be resizable. We also heard requests to keep the balance and originality of the current UI, while improving readability.
For Character Creation, many of you asked for:
- More body types and imperfections (cellulite, scars, pregnancy-related changes, etc.)
- A height option
- Better body representation for children and teens
To be honest, this was one of the very first requests we received when we started developing inZOI. And honestly… when you build in full 3D, expanding body variety is really hard. Ah — if I could go back to that moment, I’d take a deep breath and try to tackle it with everything I’ve got… 
We also received many requests for:
- Expanded outfit saving
- An auto-switch toggle by outfit category
- More variety in underwear colors and designs
- More updates related to baby and toddler clothing
The end-of-March update won’t have a huge amount (there’s only so much we can fit in), but we’re planning to add more in April. We’re still making them, so please hang in there a little longer. lol
In-Game Body Representation & Censorship
There’s been a lot of debate about how we handle censorship during showers/baths. Many of you were unhappy with the current bubble + underwear approach.
I just came back from an emergency meeting. 
We’re reviewing a flow like:
- Wear a robe before entering
- Use bubbles while inside
- Wear a robe again when coming out
We’re also planning to adjust the amount of bubbles, and the underwear is currently gray, so we’re looking to change it to a more natural option.
The blur overlaps with the bubbles and feels awkward, so we’re considering removing it and discussing a more natural, immersive approach overall. Some players also asked us to consider a higher age rating or reduced censorship for more realistic expression — we’ve heard you.
Social Interaction & Autonomy
A lot of you want deeper autonomy and emotional expression:
- More natural conversations and emotional reactions
- Better relationship development
- Realistic reactions to jealousy and betrayal
Specific suggestions included restoring physical reactions to cheating and improving reactions related to watching TV, etc.
Restoring physical reactions is almost finished, but there are a lot of edge cases, so we want to polish it as much as possible before delivering it.
We also saw many requests about:
- Clear separation between needs and long-term goals (Desires)
- Showing the reason behind autonomous actions
- Better reflection of emotion/personality changes
Honestly, this is an area where we haven’t improved enough, and I’m sorry about that. Recently, we’ve been researching a new approach to make this a simulation where emotion, autonomy, and reactions feel truly alive — like real people. We’ll do our best to improve this part by summer.
That said, more detailed options to control autonomous behavior will be included in the April update.
Family & More Content
We received requests for:
- Expanded family trees
- More realistic pregnancy and childbirth
- Better child/teen life stages
- A hospital system for childbirth
- More emotional family interactions (like covering someone with a blanket while they sleep, hugs, etc.)
We also got suggestions for:
High school sports, graduation ceremonies, cheerleading
Expanded crime and job systems
Stronger multicultural representation and disability inclusion
We’re currently working on the school system, and we’ll keep these ideas in mind while building it.
There were also discussions around:
- Improvements to building/city systems
- A parking system
- Travel and rental systems
- Plans to connect with Canvas Town
Ghost Gameplay & Supernatural Elements
Opinions on ghost gameplay were split. Many of you were unhappy with the current quest-based, limited system, and suggested:
- A separate “ghost world” layer
- More variety in ghost characters and spiritual entities
- Expansion of the “Soul Guide” job
You also suggested improving ghost visuals, sound, behaviors, and making ghost-related gameplay more fun overall. Some of you requested options to toggle ghost appearances or remove specific ghosts.
We can’t improve ghosts immediately (we’re already deep into the March update), but we’ll make sure to address this and improve it in April.
We also saw discussions about:
- AI-generated art in the game and how to use fan art
- Improving how we collect and reflect community feedback
- Improving cutscenes and the dialogue system
- Jumping, NPC swimming, rides/public activities, better parking/driving
- More jobs, more events, and seasonal atmosphere
Even inside the dev team, there are many opinions — but I’m honestly happy to see this topic come up so strongly this week. Personally… I really want inZOI to have jumping.
We also received suggestions to include supernatural beings and mythological elements from different cultures, and to expand items and storytelling to reflect more diversity in race, body type, age, and social class. inZOI’s world is so realistic that I’ve been hesitating… but maybe we should try it? ^^;
Thank you again. We received so many posts this week.
Tomorrow, as announced, we’re planning the 5.6 engine update. There will be a small graphics update as well (the bigger graphics improvements will be applied at the end of March). We hope moving to a newer engine will make inZOI more stable.
And we’ll be back on Friday with a fun video made by the dev team.
Good night~
kjun
, I will check this out soon in CAZ and I will post any info if needed 
so lots of features aren’t available yet.
