Life-sim Life by You shows off how jobs will work for the first time

Paradox has shown off a little gameplay footage of how jobs will work in Life by You as part of the Future Games Show Summer Showcase powered by Intel

Studio director of marketing, King Choi, joined us to walk fans through a sneak peek of a day at work with one Life by You human, a barista called Harli.

We start by following her to the coffee shop where she works, where she'll need to complete several tasks before finishing up her work day. This includes cleaning up the display cabinets where some cakes are being held. Apparently, customers will inspect the cabinet itself before picking up any treats.

We already know that the Sims competitor will allow you to create custom careers and jobs for your characters when it launches into early access in September. According to Paradox Tectonic head and Sims veteran, Rod Humble, you'll be able to choose from a selection of jobs such as retail and white-collar professions, but you can make anything you want if that's not an available option. 

Alongside the job creation tools, there will also be other customization tools like the Build Tool, Object Editor Tool, and Conversation Creator Tool. Paradox Tectonic has also confirmed the game won't have any loading screens

During the Future Games Show presentation, we were also reminded that Life by You will feature mod support too. "The creator tools, as well as editors, that you'll be able to play with in our game, will allow you to get your hands on the same game tool that our game team is using to actually make the game in order to make your own UGC and mods," says King Choi.

Life by You is set to release into Early Access on September 12, 2023, and will be available to play on PC through the Epic Game Store and Steam, where you can wishlist the game right now.

If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.

CATEGORIES
Sam Loveridge
Brand Director, GamesRadar+

Sam Loveridge is the Brand Director and former Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar. She joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.

Read more
Big in 2025: inZOI
inZOI's "community simulation" approach to the life sim genre could make it The Sims 4's biggest rival yet
Screenshot from inZOI showing two characters talking.
InZOI director hopes the Sims rival will be "successful and beloved," continues moonlighting as a philosopher: "Life is a tragedy when seen up close, but a comedy when viewed from a distance"
inZOI Character Studio screenshot showing a young woman with short black/pink hair, black cat-like ears, and a black blouse with a bowtie
Hyper-realistic The Sims rival inZOI will announce a "roadmap for future updates, and pricing and DLC plans" in this month's showcase
Paralives
The Sims 4's colorful competitor Paralives is bringing one of my favorite features from The Sims 3 back – the ability to customize literally everything
InZOI screenshot showing friendly Zois hanging out at a beach party
inZOI: Everything we know so far
InZOI screenshot
The Sims rival InZoi has 300 people hanging out in each of its in-game cities and they all "interact with each other in real-time"
Latest in Gaming
Helldivers 2 Borderline Justice Warbond helldiver using hoverpack to shoot down with hunting rifle
Talking points from the Game Developers Conference 2025 and how they could impact the future of gaming
GDC The Game Developers logo
Biggest announcements from the Game Developers Conference 2025
FGS Spring 2025
How to watch The Future Game Show Spring Showcase 2025 – and what to expect
Image of the Death Stranding 2 On The Beach Collector's Edition on a purple GamesRadar background.
Death Stranding 2 collector's edition is a sight to behold and here's where to pre-order yours
GDC The Game Developers logo
When is the Game Developers Conference 2025 and why is it so interesting?
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Everything announced at Pokemon Presents 2025
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"