Developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive have announced Cities: Skylines II, the sequel to 2015's Cities: Skylines.
Revealed as part of today's Paradox Announcement Show 2023, Cities: Skylines II is leaving last-gen consoles behind and heading exclusively to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The city builder sequel is set to launch sometime in 2023.
Paradox said Cities: Skylines II will improve and expand upon the robust city building mechanics fans know from the original, including fully-realized transportation and economy systems, tons of construction and customization options, and advanced modding capabilities.
Players will be able to build any type of city they want, from a small village to a bustling metroplis. Paradox is touting that Cities: Skylines II will be the most realistic city simulation ever created.
Cities: Skylines was originally released on PC and Mac in 2015, and the game eventually came to PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and even Stadia. The city builder also saw a number of DLC expansions, like major updates Cities: Skylines After Dark, Cities: Skylines Snowfall, a natural disasters DLC, and more. The original game recently got a remastered version for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.
In our Cities: Skylines review, we said, "More than anything, Cities: Skylines is about the simple joy of building. It’s a really impressive and often beautiful simulation, where an amazing number of virtual people go about their business across a huge swath of land."
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.