inZOI Players Surprised to Discover You Can Run Over Children, Despite Teen Rating

Life sim inZOI is out now in early access on PC, and players have expressed their surprise at being able to run over children, despite the game’s Teen rating.

Warning! The following contains descriptions of inZOI gameplay some may find disturbing.

The ESRB’s listing for inZOI does not mention the ability to run people over, but does mention Zois can die from “traffic accidents.”

This is a simulation game in which players create, customize, and control realistic characters called Zois through their daily activities. Players pursue various goals/objectives as they observe and interact with other Zois around town. Some actions can result in Zois fighting with each other, if players choose specific prompts (e.g., “Pick a fight”; “Throw a punch”). Zoi can die from natural or accidental causes (e.g., starvation, electrocution, fire, traffic accidents); among these deaths, death by fire depicts flames visibly engulfing a Zoi’s body in dramatic fashion. Players can build relationships and pursue intimate encounters with other Zois, with the ability to romance them via certain prompts (e.g., “Tell a dirty joke”; “Make bedroom eyes”; “Try out a pickup line”). One of these actions (e.g., “Suggest having a baby”) leads to a scene in which Zois appear in bed, with a large heart icon covering them, as confetti bursts on the screen. During the course of the game, Zois can be seen using toilets, accompanied by mosaic/blurred pixelation effects; players can also command Zois to pass gas (e.g., “Fart secretly”).

That’s enough to get the T for Teen rating you’d expect for a sandbox life sim like this, and indeed is the same rating The Sims 4 has.

However, inZOI players have discovered that they can — accidentally or otherwise — kill NPCs including children by driving into them, at which point the ragdoll physics kick in. Characters run over in this way die immediately.

This sort of gameplay typically warrants an M for Mature rating in the United States and a PEGI 18 rating across Europe. The Grand Theft Auto games, which carry an M for Mature rating, do let you run over pedestrians but do not feature children outside of cutscenes.

While inZOI looks like an early Steam hit, reaching number one on the global Steam top sellers chart just 40 minutes after release and, at the time of this article’s publication, over 56,000 concurrent players, it seems this aspect of the game may have slipped through the net at publisher Krafton.

IGN has asked Krafton for comment.

“I don’t think that Krafton realizes that you can run over children in inZOI,” reads one thread on the inZOI subreddit.

“So I have early access to inZOI and part of early access is trying to break the game,” redditor HeeeydevonGaming said.

“This is how you report bugs, issues, etc. One of the issues I found is that you can drive into the elementary school and run over.. Unalive the children.. They might want to change this as the game is launching with a T rating.”

Most fans believe Krafton will likely patch this out of the game, or risk inZOI having to be resubmitted for a stricter age rating.

Celebrating the launch today, inZOI Studio CEO and inZOI producer and director Hyungjun ‘Kjun’ Kim said:

“I created and nurtured inZOI with great care as if it were my child, though it still has a lot of room for improvement.

“As inZOI takes its first steps into the world, I feel both proud and somewhat anxious — hoping it won’t stumble or get hurt. It would be deeply appreciated if you could watch over the game with warmth and support.”

inZOI’s Steam page also includes the now essential generative AI disclaimer, which Valve imposes on developers and publishers who use the tech in the creation of their games.

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

“Players can generate unique textures for character outfits and various items based on text input. They can also create 3D objects from image input, which can be used as interior decorations or accessories, and add distinctive motions to their Zoi using video input. Additionally, the actions and thoughts of Zois are controlled through sLM technology, enabling more engaging and intuitive interactions.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.