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Cities: Skylines 2 still isn’t where most diehard players want it to be, and its predecessor is 10 years old now, but Paradox is throwing a celebration this month loaded with content updates, a subscription option for the first game, and more.
Last month, Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester openly admitted the publisher and most of its studios had faced a rough 2024 and needed to ‘rethink’ their approach to both full-scale launches and post-launch support to regain much of the veteran players’ trust. One of the biggest thorns in the company’s side has been 2023’s Cities: Skylines 2, which (despite its strong foundations) failed to convince many city-building enthusiasts who’d put hundreds of hours into the first game.
As a direct result, post-launch progress on Cities: Skylines 2 has been slower as developer Colossal Order attempts to fix what’s broken before going all-in on new content. Meanwhile, the first installment continues to receive plenty of love. This month, Paradox and the studio are celebrating the ten-year anniversary of the franchise, and that means new updates, teases of what’s to come, and even a few surprises.
Via Paradox’s official forums, we received a full roadmap of this month’s celebrations and major Cities: Skylines events:
You can find all the details in the original post, but here’s the quick rundown:
Cities: Skylines 2 is getting 10 free assets on March 18 with a special anniversary patch. The sequel is also getting three creator packs (Dragon Gate, Leisure Venues, and Mediterranean Heritage) as well as three radio stations (Atmospheric Piano Station, Jade Road Station, and Feelgood Funk Station). These are included in the Ultimate Edition of the game. Cities: Skylines 1 is getting three new parks through its own special anniversary patch. The original game is also getting two creator packs (Emerging Downtown and Countryside) as well as one radio station (Harvest Harmony). Both games will be part of the upcoming Steam City-Builder Fest celebration, and that includes events and promotions, including a free-to-play period for the first game from March 20 to 24.
In a separate post, Paradox also detailed plans for a subscription model for Cities: Skylines 1 that will give players access to all pieces of DLC available, which sounds a lot like what other games like The Elder Scrolls Online have successfully implemented in the past. This should ease new players into the game and given them a chance to try out different DLC packs and major expansions before buying them. It’s also an opportunity to experience the full thing without putting down all the required money if you’re more of a ‘transitory’ player.
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