Cities: Skylines 2: Console Release Uncertainty Lingers
The developer acknowledges it has “additional aspects” to manage.
Cities: Skylines 2 creator Colossal Order has provided an update regarding the long-delayed console launch of the city-building sequel – confirming it still has “additional elements we need to address” prior to its release, indicating it won’t be available until at least summer.
Cities: Skylines 2’s Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 editions were initially scheduled to debut alongside the PC release back in October 2023. However, Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive announced a last-minute postponement into 2024. The launch was then delayed indefinitely following Cities: Skylines 2’s unfortunate debut on PC, which continues to face complaints about poor performance and simulation issues, despite several updates in the 18 months since.
Colossal Order’s latest update on Cities: Skylines 2’s console release came last November, when it acknowledged it was struggling with “hardware constraints” affecting performance on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. They noted that they had managed to make the game “stable and playable” on consoles by “substantially reducing the graphics quality,” but expressed that they weren’t satisfied with this compromise and sought to enhance graphics quality to an “acceptable standard.”
Fast forward six months, and Colossal Order has once again addressed the console launch of Cities: Skylines 2. While it appears that progress is indeed being made, there still seems to be some way to go. “We are making consistent progress on the console version,” they stated in an update, “and our primary focus has been on further enhancing performance and stability. However, despite these improvements, there are additional elements we need to address before we reach the quality level and experience we aim to provide for you as our players.”
“We understand many of you are eagerly anticipating the console availability,” they continued, “but to set clear expectations: we will not launch before summer. We wish to avoid any premature estimates and instead commit to sharing reliable information as we approach a launch-ready phase. Our goal remains unchanged: to release Cities: Skylines 2 on consoles in the best possible condition.”
The situation is not only troubling on the PC side as well. Colossal Order has also admitted that it is encountering challenges with Cities: Skylines 2’s custom asset editor – a modding feature it labeled as “essential” last September when it announced delays in its DLC plans to focus on completing and launching the asset editor. In its latest update, the studio has indicated that this feature is proving to be “more technically challenging than initially expected due to the significant amounts of built-in assets.”