Cities: Skylines 2 had a disastrous launch, and the studio is starting to admit it via a recent announcement. A welcome mea culpa for the community?
The development of Cities: Skylines 2 is going through a difficult period, notably marked by the lack of support for mods, a situation that Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of Colossal Order, considers the team’s “biggest regret”. A turnaround compared to a few weeks ago when the studio tried to minimize the facts. This time, everything is much clearer.
Cities Skylines 2 is gradually catching up
Despite releasing last October, the city-building game failed to meet expectations, largely due to performance issues and the lack of much-awaited community support. In the latest dev diary posted on Paradox Interactive’s forum, Hallikainen acknowledges player criticism, calling the game’s launch disastrous. The team initially intended to include full mod support upon release, but technical difficulties and time constraints prevented this goal from being achieved. Given the enormous number of problems, this was to be expected. The priority was elsewhere.
Faced with these obstacles, Colossal Order is striving to catch up. In addition to mod support, the studio is working on console versions of the game, delayed until spring, as well as expansion pass content, also postponed to allow developers to focus on improving the base game. These efforts include bug fixes and performance optimizations.
Based on player feedback, Colossal is considering several improvements: adjusting land values, revising the education system for children and adolescents, increasing the transparency of the economic system, balancing subsidies and the importation of services, as well as adjustments to negative happiness modifiers related to lack of basic utilities. Hallikainen highlights the challenges the team of 30 developers faces and ensures that all members are doing their best to improve the situation. A very good point that we can only welcome. Soon, will the game live up to Cities Skylines 1?