The Paralives Early Access will start in one month for PC and Mac, on May 25, 2026. The brand new life simulation game has been highly anticipated by fans of the genre and promises to bring back loved features like open world and the color wheel, as well as new innovative gameplay for the genre.

Let’s take a look at what to expect from Early Access, and you can share your thoughts on our unofficial poll and comments below!

About Paralives

Paralives is a life simulation game developed by indie studio Paralives Studio and first announced in 2019. The official Steam page description reads: ‘Paralives is a life simulation game about building homes, lives and bonds. Through both hardship and success, where will your story take you?’. The game is intended to be a highly customizable sandbox experience, combining character creation, build mode tools, and an open world.

Paralives was first set to release in Early Access in December 2025, but after receiving feedback from playtesters, the team decided to take more time to polish the game and moved the Early Access release date to May 25, 2026.

The name ‘Paralives’ references ‘parallel lives,’ reflecting the game’s core features: living different virtual lives and building homes to house them.

Paralives Early Access: what does it mean?

Early Access is a development model where a game is released in a playable but unfinished state, allowing players to purchase and play it before the full official release. This is especially important for small indie developers, as it provides funding to keep the studio operating while receiving player feedback to improve the game during development.

Initial Features

The initial features listed in the official Development Progress for Early Access are:

Features available on day one of Paralives Early Access

• Open world town
• Day-night cycle
• Work (rabbit holes)
• Career progression
• Personality traits
• Emotions
• Wants
• Skills
• Needs
• Social interactions
• Relationship development
• Multiselecting characters and doing anything as a group
• Cooking system
• House fires
• Bills
• Having children
• Aging and death
• Character autonomy
• Shops and restaurants
• Museum and collections
• Modding tools to add and edit the game’s content

Planned to come out during Early Access

• Weather and seasons
• Calendar
• Family tree
• Dogs, cats and horses
• Cars and bikes
• Boats and houseboats
• Swimming
• Story progression for NPCs
• Gardening and fishing
• Organizing social events (parties, weddings)
• Calling Paras over the phone and chatting online
• Tools to edit and create towns
• More personality traits, wants, emotions, jobs, etc

Build Mode

Build Mode is the feature that lets you design, build, and customize homes and other structures. In Paralives, Build Mode refers to the placement of objects to change the environment of a lot, for construction as well as decoration.

The Paralives Build Mode will include tools such as placing walls at any length and angle (including curved walls), the option to use grid-less placement for everything (walls, objects, etc.), the ability to resize almost anything (like windows, doors, furniture, etc.) by pulling corner anchors, and the ability to customize colors and textures using a color wheel system. The player will be able to stack, rotate, or elevate objects at will with the Advanced Object Placement Tool. There’s also an in-game measuring tape that uses real-life measurements, meaning that players will be able to replicate real-life plans in the game!

You can also learn more about the build mode in our article: Everything We Noticed In The Paralives Build Furnishing Trailer.

Paramaker (PAM)

The character editor for Paralives is called Paramaker (or PAM for short). This game mode will operate differently depending on circumstances. The first way is when first creating a household, where the player will have access to all of its features like age, body, clothing, personality, gender identity, voice, etc. The second way is after the character is created or when editing an existing Parafolk, where the player will have more limited options for editing.

One highlight of character creation in Paralives is that the Parafolk start with a genderless preset. This means that they don’t have ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’ body frames, but a neutral frame that can be customized using sliders for chest, hips, buttocks, and more. This is also true for the clothes, which will not be separated by gender. The identity of the Parafolk can be assigned in the interface of the Paramaker.

You can also learn more about the Paramaker in our article: Paramaker Crash-Course: Everything We Noticed In The Recent Paralives Stream.

Live Mode

The Live Mode is the mode that focuses on gameplay, where players will be able to manage their Parafolk’s routines, which include taking care of their needs, interacting with other Parafolk, progressing in relationships, evolving their personalities over time, and performing interactions around the open-world town.

The Paralives Town

The Paralives Town is the open-world environment where Parafolk live, explore, and interact. Players can walk around the town, visit shops and restaurants, use public transportation, meet other Parafolk, and participate in town events. The town is designed to feel alive and connected, with no loading screens between lots.

The name of the town is believed to be Melino. The name was ‘leaked’ after the April 2026 video showcasing the museum, where future players noticed the words ‘I❤️MLN’ and ‘Greetings from Melino’ on objects available at the museum shop. You can learn more about the museum in our article: Paralives Gives A Tour of Museum Venue and Beneficial Features!

Platform and System Requirements

The game will be available on Steam for Windows and macOS, and it’s not planned to come to consoles at the moment, as stated in their official FAQ. It’s also stated that they are working on optimizing the game so that it can run on laptops and lower-end computers. You can check the system requirements for Windows and macOS below:

Paralives System Requirements for Windows

Paralives System Requirements for macOS

Mods and Steam Workshop

On day one of Paralives Early Access, players will have the ability to create their own mods and share them on the Steam Workshop. The moddable features supported will include: careers, genetics, rabbit holes, recipes, TV channels, relationship labels, together cards, vibes, wants, Build Mode assets, Paramaker assets, Photo Mode assets, food, and custom music for radios. The modding guide for the game is already available on the Paralives Modding Wiki.

Although script mods are not currently planned to be allowed on the Steam Workshop, it will be possible to make this type of mod on third-party platforms.

Paralives Early Access Community Poll

Now we want to hear from you! Here is the unofficial poll about Paralives Early Access features. You can also share your thoughts in the comments below.

What feature in Paramaker are you most excited for?

Body sliders for changing physical features (including height)

Color wheel system for physical characteristics (like eye, hair, and skin color)

No restrictions by gender for body frame and clothing

Clothing customization with color wheel and layers, and free placement for tattoos and piercings

What do you think about the initial visuals of the Parafolks?

I love the visuals, it's exactly what I expected!

They look fine, but need more polish

I like them, but I'll use mods to change them

It's not my style, and I'll use mods to change them.

I don't like the visuals

Which feature in build mode are you most excited for?

Object customization (color wheel, resizable objects, etc.)

Optional grid-less placement for objects, walls, half-walls, and fences

Curved/angled walls, upper floor assist, and split levels

Terrain tools

What do you think about the build mode?

It's exactly what I want!

I liked it, but it still needs more tools

I don't like it

Regarding the open world town, what feature are you most excited for?

Learn more about the lore by exploring the town and meeting the locals

Participate in town events (like yoga class, astronomy club, etc.) and explore town features like stores, cafes, and restaurants

Find collectibles for the museum

About the game modes, which one do you think you will expect to spend more time in?

Paramaker, I can't wait to create my own Paras!

Build Mode, I can't wait to create new places and customize the town!

Live Mode, I can't wait to create my own stories!

What do you think about the mods implementation and the integration with Steam Workshop?

I like it, and I plan to use it for creating and downloading custom content!

I like it, and I plan to use it only for downloading custom content

I don't plan to use mods

What do you think of the system requirements for the game?

It's fine, and I'll be able to play

It's fine, but I won't be able to play

It's demanding, but I'll still be able to play

It's demanding, and I won't be able to play

What do you think about the price ($39.99) for the early access?

It's a fair price, and I'll get it in early access

It's a fair price, but I'm not getting it in early access

It's too expensive, but I'm getting it in early access

It's too expensive, and I won't buy it in early access

It's too expensive, and I'm not planning to buy it

Are you planning to buy Paralives in early access?

Yes, I'll buy the game in early access

No, I'll wait until development is complete to buy it

I'm not planning to buy the game

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Stay tuned for the latest Paralives game coverage and release updates right here!