Cities: Skylines 2 developer Colossal Order has disclosed that no console release date has been announced for the city builder sequel due to “hardware limitations” affecting performance on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
Originally slated for a simultaneous launch on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation 5 last October, the release was delayed to 2024 by Colossal Order and Paradox to ensure quality targets were met. However, after a rocky PC launch riddled with performance and simulation issues, the console release was postponed indefinitely by Paradox.
Updates on the progress of Cities: Skylines 2 for Xbox and PlayStation have been scarce, but Colossal Order recently shared on Steam the challenges they are encountering in bringing the game to consoles. They mentioned facing simulation and graphics issues that lead to frame rate drops and memory overload when players perform certain actions, a result of the hardware limitations on consoles.
One specific issue mentioned was the struggle to handle data load when placing larger buildings with multiple entities, leading to performance bottlenecks. Colossal Order has managed to stabilize the game for consoles by significantly reducing graphics quality, but they are striving to bring it to an acceptable level without compromising too much. Further optimizations are required for simulation and memory usage before the console version can be shared.
The indefinite delay of the console launch date for Cities: Skylines 2 remains in place until these issues are resolved. Colossal Order emphasized the importance of not providing a premature or misleading release estimate and reassured players that the console version is a top priority, with ongoing efforts to address the challenges.
Following public apologies from Paradox for past issues with Cities: Skylines 2 and its DLCs, ensuring the console version meets quality standards is critical. However, given the history of releasing the PC version despite not reaching targeted benchmarks, console players are advised to approach the eventual release cautiously.
Colossal Order’s update on consoles precedes a PC patch scheduled for November 26th, promising gameplay fixes and UI enhancements. Additionally, a new free community-created region pack focused on the United Kingdom will be released today.
In a statement to Eurogamer, Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester acknowledged missteps in various projects and expressed the need for change, particularly in non-core projects like Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. This shift in approach aims to avoid repeating past errors.
