Programming - Skill Progression Guide (post–December update + updated after April patch)

[EllaEstella]

Programming Skill Guide (Level 0 → Level 10) (post–December update)

Settings: 96-minute day • Context: after the December update (much faster skill XP from activities)

Intro

In my rotational play I test money-making skills with Zois dedicated to one main skill. Below are my Programming observations after the December update, focusing on level-up speed, work completion time, and Level 10 benefits as they might be useful if you’re considering investing into this skill.

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Key takeaways

• Fastest XP: programming at the PC (books give very little progress in my run).

• Stable leveling: ~3 in-game hours per level-up from Level 1 to Level 9.

• Work-time breakpoints: changes at Level 3, Level 6, Level 9.

• Level 10 spike: hacking options + high-value quality outcomes.

• Money-making changed after April patch: completed programs can now be published for recurring royalties instead of relying on a one-time direct sale.

• After April patch Freelancing is the immediate-payment alternative: accept a Programming commission first, create the requested program and deliver it to the client.

One-liner: Work time changes at Level 3, Level 6, and Level 9; skill gain per level stays ~3h throughout Level 1–9.

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Project type unlocks (Programming)

• Level 0: Plugin, Game Mod

• Level 2: Utility App, Puzzle Game

• Level 4: Shopping App, Sandbox Game

• Level 6: Finance App, Antivirus Program

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Core progression table (overview)

Phase	Level-up time	Work time (App/Game/etc.)	Notes
Level 0 → Level 1	~3 min	—	Very fast initial level at the PC
Level 1 → Level 3	~3 h per level	~7.5 h	XP is much faster than finishing a full work
Level 3 → Level 6	~3 h per level	~6 h	First major work-time drop
Level 6 → Level 9	~3 h per level	under 4 h	Another work-time drop
Level 9 → Level 10	~3 h	under 2 h	Big speed-up for finishing works
Level 10	—	under 2 h	Endgame: fastest works + best bonuses

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Publishing vs. Freelancing (post April patch)

The money-making system for PC-created works has changed.

There are now two separate ways you can monetize Programming:

Method	How it works	Payment
Publish	Create a normal program first, then publish it	First royalty after ~4 days, then roughly weekly
Freelance	Accept a Programming contract first, then create the requested program specifically for that client	Immediate payment after delivery

The important difference is that you cannot create a program first and then decide to use it for a Freelance contract. Freelance works are created specifically after accepting the commission.

This makes Skill Level important for the money strategy. At lower levels, when Bad/Medium/Good results are still common, Freelancing can be more reliable because Freelancer payouts do not appear to depend much on work quality.

At high Programming levels, when Excellent and Perfect programs become much more common, Publishing becomes increasingly attractive because every published work can generate recurring royalties over several weeks.

Observed royalties

I have observed exactly five recurring royalty amounts:

250 • 375 • 500 • 750 • 1,050 Mew per payout and published work

There are also exactly five work quality levels, so my strong working assumption is:

Likely Quality	Royalty per payout
Bad	~250
Medium	~375
Good	~500
Excellent	~750
Perfect	~1,050

This mapping is not directly confirmed by the UI. Royalty notifications show the title of the work but no longer show its original quality. However, the exact five payout tiers matching the five quality levels makes this a very strong assumption.

The first royalty arrives roughly 4 days after publishing, followed by payments approximately weekly. I have seen works continue generating royalties for at least 2–3 weeks, but I have not yet confirmed the exact lifetime or number of payments.

For immediate payment instead, see my Freelance Career guide.

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Level 10 benefits (hacking + income spike)

Hacking Competition (Sundays)

• Available at Level 10

• You can participate on Sundays

• Outcome in my run: either you win 1000 Mew or you get nothing (luck-based)

Hack into a Bank

• Available at Level 10

• Takes ~10 minutes

• Success: +1000 Mew

• Failure / caught: −500 Mew

• Cooldown applies whether you succeed or fail

Final Takeaway

• Money strategy after the April patch: Programming now has two very different income paths. At lower skill levels, Freelancing can provide more reliable immediate income. At high levels — particularly with fast creation times and frequent Excellent/Perfect results — Publishing looks considerably stronger for long-term income because multiple programs can generate royalties simultaneously.

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  Update / Addendum: Genius trait speeds up Programming

  While playing another Zoi with the Genius trait, I noticed Programming felt significantly faster, so I ran a quick test to confirm.

  Test setup: two Zois started at the same time with the same actions and the same mood (no active buffs). One Zoi had Genius, the other didn’t.

  Result: the Genius Zoi was clearly faster both in finishing works (apps/games) and in leveling up.

  • Work completion time (apps/games) with Genius:
    up to Level 3 ~4h10m → from Level 3 ~2h45m → from Level 6 ~1h50m → from Level 9 <1h

  • Level-up time with Genius: usually ~2h15m per level, and Level 9 → 10 ~1h45m

  • See the time coparison Genius vs. not Genius 2 posts below Work completion time (apps/games) with Genius:

[EllaEstella]

I did a very interesting observation today and not sure if it was there prior December update already because back then I tested only with one Zoi who had the Genius trait but even then the leveling times were crazy slow. This changed a lot after the December update for most of the skills.

For the above Guide after the December update I did the testing with a Zoi without the Genius trait and measured the timings. Now while playing another Zoi with the Genius trait I spotted a difference in the time he needed to finish the programming work. Especially in the early levels it is quite noticable as 7,5 hours is really long.

The Zoi with the Genius trait finished his first programming work within 4:10 hours and after he reached Level 3 (where the first work-time drop happens) the time dropped to 2:50 hours. I will update once I hit Level 6 and Level 9. Also the time to level-up took him only 2:15 instead of the normal 3 hours. So for programming it really makes a huge difference when you give your Zoi the Genius trait!

To be sure I did a short test with 2 newly created Zois. He has the Genius trait, she hasn’t. I placed them next to each other and they started to work on programming exactly at the same time. You can see the difference in the 2 screenshots: he is already shortly before reaching Level 2 and has his current programming work at 57%:

At the exact same moment after the exact same time of programming she is only at 28% for her programming work and has has still a quarter of the skill circle to go until reaching Level 2.

Once I have the work-time drops for Genius for Level 6 and 9, I will update with a note directly in the initial guide post.

[EllaEstella]

I finalized the test run with the Genius trait Zoi and leveling speed as well as programming work-time is constantly way faster vs a Zoi without this trait. I did a small update in the guide directly with a link to this post.

Genius vs. Normal (Programming) — differences at a glance

Phase	Normal (work completion time)	Genius (work completion time)	Difference
Up to Level 3	~7h 30m	~4h 10m	~3h 20m faster
Level 3 → Level 6	~6h	~2h 45m	~3h 15m faster
Level 6 → Level 9	under 4h	~1h 50m	≥ ~2h 10m faster
Level 9 → Level 10	under 2h	under 1h	~1h faster (approx.)

Phase	Normal (time to level up)	Genius (time to level up)	Difference
Most levels (Level 1 → Level 9)	~3h	~2h 15m	~45m faster
Level 9 → Level 10	~3h	~1h 45m	~1h 15m faster

[HeinziDerHeld]

Wow, that’s a huge difference. I’ll try to keep it in mind for my gameplay. Thanks for sharing all of this info with us

[EllaEstella]

I have updated the guide a bit as the money making system has changed for all PC created work since the April Patch.

The monetization sections above have been updated for the new Publishing/Royalty system. PC-created programs, books, videos and music can now generate recurring royalties, while Freelance contracts are the new main immediate-payment alternative.

[EllaEstella]

September 3rd Update – Royalty Timing have changed after the update

A quick heads-up before I update the guide itself:

Since the September 3rd update, royalties for published books, programs, videos and music appear to work differently.

Previously, I usually saw the first royalty payment about 4 in-game days after publishing. After the update, I initially thought the system might be broken because one of my Zois published more than 20 works during the week and received no royalties at all.

Then on Sunday, all royalty payments arrived together. In this case, my Zoi received payments for 23 published works at once, totaling roughly 15,000 Mew.

Not every work published during the week was included, though. I had already published something on the previous Saturday and it did not pay on the immediately following Sunday either. This suggests there is probably some kind of weekly cutoff a few days before the Sunday payout — possibly around Thursday or Friday — but I cannot confirm the exact cutoff yet.

So my current observation is:

Royalties now appear to be paid once per week, on Sunday, with multiple published works bundled into a single payout cycle.

I’m going to watch one more full week before changing the main guide, so I can see which publications are included in the next Sunday payment and hopefully narrow down the cutoff a bit better.