Eight years after its release, the current premier city-building game, Cities: Skylines, is finally getting a new iteration.Cities: Skylines IIIt is also developed by the original developer Colossal Order and published by Paradox Interactive. It is expected to launch PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles and other versions this year (2023).
So far the game has only been announced, and there’s only a “concept” trailer, but Colossal Order promises to bring new tools and mechanics, including detailed building, transportation, industry, and economy systems. Naturally, “Cities: Skylines II” will not forget the support for mods, and it is expected to continue the original version with huge workshop content for download.
The original Cities: Skylines came out in 2015, right after a new generation of SimCity that disappointed fans. The earliest “Cities: Skylines” is quite functional, but it is extremely detailed and excellent in traffic management, making solving traffic problems the main content of the early game. After that, “Cities: Skylines” expanded a large number of DLCs, step by step adding various new content and mechanisms such as Snow Country, more public transportation, parks, industrial areas, universities, airports, and financial centers. This not only brings more urban aspects, but also makes “Cities: Skylines” almost a completely different game from when it was first launched, except that the traffic will still be knotted.
However, this is probably the biggest risk that “Cities: Skylines II” will face-although it can be expected that there will be a substantial improvement in the picture, but in terms of game content, it is hard to believe that it can be achieved at the beginning of its launch. On the same level as “Cities: Skylines”, I am afraid that Colossal Order is also an abacus that DLC can be sold again. If this is the case, then in terms of gameplay, “Cities: Skylines II” may be reversed, but unfortunately there is no game content to be seen from the trailer.
In any case, the original Cities: Skylines will be celebrating its 8th anniversary on March 10, so perhaps more news will be revealed by then. Even if not, there are only less than 9 months left in 2023. Take advantage of this time to take out the old version and enjoy it!