Cities: Skylines II began a temporary free-to-play period on Steam on November 12, and the game is available to try for a few days. The developers’ City Corner #15 diary also reviews ongoing work on the simulation, city-building tools, visuals, and mod support.
Players can unlock the Grand Post Office signature building by subscribing to the Paradox Newsletter. The building is an extra landmark to add to a city during the free-play period.
The diary describes a continuing effort to make citizens, companies, households, and services work together more consistently, especially as cities grow. Performance remains an ongoing concern, with work focused on finding bottlenecks across traffic, citizens, buildings, and the environment rather than expecting one fix to solve everything.
On the creative side, the developers have been refining road layouts, building placement, terrain, environmental details, and the interface. They are also working on the Asset Editor and modding workflow, alongside improvements to how players browse and manage content through Paradox Mods.
The November 10 Seasonal Shift update fixed cities accumulating companies without buildings and restored the Hydroelectric Power Plant, as detailed in the Seasonal Shift update. The developers held back additional texturing under roads and FSR4 support for more polish based on feedback.
They also teased something sizeable coming in December alongside Park Adventures. Earlier Park Adventures leisure plans describe a free base-game leisure overhaul, with park-district building tools coming through the expansion.
Which area would make the biggest difference to your cities, simulation performance, creative tools, or mod support? Follow the continuing work on city systems and Park Adventures through X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
Cities: Skylines II
Developed by Colossal Order, Iceflake Studios
Create and manage your own city without restrictions. Offering a deep simulation and a living economy, Cities: Skylines II will challenge your decision-making skills and allow you to build the cities of your dreams. Get ready for a new epic scale in the most realistic city builder - ever.
- Genre Simulator, Strategy
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Perspective Bird view / Isometric
- Modes Single player
- Release October 24, 2023
- Publisher Paradox Interactive
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Age Rating
