After Cities: Skylines II fiasco, developer realizes gamers are "less accepting" of flawed launches

In brief: It is becoming increasingly common for high-budget video games to launch with mild or serious issues, often causing players to decide whether to purchase them on day one or wait. Cities: Skylines II was one of last year's most notorious cases. As the game's first anniversary approaches, publisher Paradox Interactive reflects on what it would have done differently.

In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, Cities: Skylines II publisher Paradox Interactive said it recognizes that player expectations are higher nowadays. The game's disastrous launch has changed the company's approach to other projects like the upcoming Prison Architect 2.

Speaking at a media event, CEO Mattias Lilja admitted that players with limited money and free time are losing patience for flawed games to be fixed post-launch. Paradox and developer Colossal Order knew that Cities: Skylines II had issues upon its initial October 2023 release but underestimated the criticism they would receive from customers. The game still hasn't fully recovered after a year on the market.

Performance was initially the biggest problem. Although the initial system requirements were high, Paradox raised them just before launch, and performance optimization struggles continued afterward.

Furthermore, the console versions were initially scheduled to be released alongside the PC but faced multiple delays and remain delayed indefinitely. Players have also criticized expansions for feeling "rushed," and Paradox has delayed upcoming expansions. The Creator Packs are now scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year, and the Bridges & Ports expansion is expected to arrive in Q2 2025.

Reception to Cities: Skylines II has fallen well short of its beloved 2015 predecessor. The sequel retains a "Mixed" review rating on Steam, and player numbers never recovered from a launch peak of roughly 104,000, according to SteamDB.

Looking back, Paradox chief creative officer Henrik Fåhraeus suggested that the company should have held a closed beta before launch to catch player feedback earlier. He indicated that ordinary players and fans of the first game might have illuminated problems that eluded QA testers.

Paradox's new perspective is likely why it delayed Prison Architect 2 indefinitely in August. Lilja remains confident that the sequel to the popular 2013 management sim features good gameplay, indicating that the delay is for additional technical polish. Hopefully, the publisher can avoid another Cities: Skylines II situation.