Summary
The console version ofCities: Skylines 2has received yet another delay, which will prevent it from reaching Xbox and PlayStation users until at least late 2024. This is the second major postponement that theCities: Skylines 2console ports have suffered in the past seven months.
Colossal Order’s latest city builder has long been enduring development challenges, having initially been planned to hit the market in late 2020. Following numerous delays,Cities: Skylines 2finally reached PC and Xbox Game Passin October 2023. However, its console ports were pushed back to spring 2024, with Colossal Order citing optimization challenges as the main reason for the postponement.
Cities: Skylines 2 Xbox, PS5 Ports Now Targeting Q4 2024 Release
Seven months following thatpreviousCities: Skylines 2delay, the game’s console version has now been pushed back yet again. “We have been struggling to getCities: Skylines 2to the necessary level of optimization for a console release,” wrote Colossal Order in an April 18poston Paradox Interactive Forums. But the Finnish studio did manage to make some inroads in recent times, and is now “hopeful” that the latest version of the city builder will prove stable and performant enough to serve as the basis for a console release candidate. Should everything go according to this newly revised plan, the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 versions of the game will debut in October 2024.
Colossal Order’s delay announcement was part of a more comprehensive post that was largely focused on responding to the playerbacklash over theCities: Skylines 2Beach Properties DLC. The move saw the Finnish studio apologize to the fandom; “we let you down,” a company representative wrote, in addition to revealing that the widely panned DLC will be changed to a free add-on, whereas its buyers will be refunded to any extent possible.
We have been struggling to get Cities: Skylines 2 to the necessary level of optimization for a console release.
Specifically, those who purchased it as part of the Ultimate Edition ofCities: Skylines 2will not be able to receive a refund. They will instead be treated to three extra Creator Packs and just as many radio stations that are planned to be released in the future, and whose total retail value will be equivalent to the $40 difference between the base game and its higher-tier edition.
As for the game’s console version, Colossal Order plans to commit to a concrete launch date once it has verified the quality of its latest release candidate, which will ostensibly happen by summer 2024. The studio noted that the team working on thePC version ofCities: Skylines 2is separate from the console staff, so its efforts to keep refining the game and its controversial DLC pack will not necessarily slow down the development of the city builder’s Xbox and PlayStation ports.
Cities: Skylines 2
WHERE TO PLAY
If you may dream it, you can build it. Raise a city from the ground up and transform it into the thriving metropolis only you can imagine. You’ve never experienced building on this scale. With deep simulation and a living economy, Cities: Skylines II delivers world-building without limits.Lay the foundations for your city to begin. Create the roads, infrastructure, and systems that make life possible day to day. It’s up to you – all of it.How your city grows is your call too, but plan strategically. Every decision has an impact. Can you energize local industries while also using trade to boost the economy? What will make residential districts flourish without killing the buzz downtown? How will you meet the needs and desires of citizens while balancing the city’s budget?Your city never rests. Like any living, breathing world, it changes over time. Some changes will be slow and gradual, while others will be sudden and unexpected. So while seasons turn and night follows day, be ready to act when life doesn’t go to plan.The most realistic and detailed city builder ever, Cities: Skylines II pushes your creativity and problem-solving to another level. With beautifully rendered high-resolution graphics, it also inspires you to build the city of your dreams.
