After an eight-year wait,Cities Skylines 2is finally on the way. While no gameplay has been revealed yet, Colossal Order is promising that it will be the most realistic city builder ever. It may seem like a lofty claim, but if the studio delivers on it then it will once again show whyCities Skylinesis the king of the urban city builder. However,Cities Skylines 2may be facing some tough competition.
Cities Skylineslaunched at a time when urban city builder fans had nowhere else to turn to.TheSimCityfranchisewasn’t held in the same favor by fans as it once was, and many were waiting for something to fill the void. Luckily, Colossal Order was there to save the day, and its game exploded in popularity. The landscape looks very different in 2023, however, and it may be hard forCities Skylines 2to replicate that success.
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Cities Skylines Launched in a Very Different Landscape
After Maxis' controversial launch ofSimCityin 2013, urban city builder fans were left with little to do. What was once the kingpin of the genre had fallen from grace. Numerous technical problems at launch made the game inaccessible to many players and caused it to be critically panned. It is often cited as one of the most disastrous launches in history, and ultimately led to the closure of Maxis Emeryville along withthe death of theSimCitybrand.
Sometimeafter the failure ofSimCity2013, Colossal Order got to work onCities Skylines. It once had reason to fear the market dominance of Maxis' iconic franchise, but genre fans were desperately looking for somewhere to turn to. Paradox Interactive greenlit the project, and sometime later,Cities Skylinesexploded onto the scene. While it was a little rough in some places, it hit almost all the right notes and fans flocked to it.
Cities Skylinestrailers emphasized that players could build their dream city, mod and share their content online, and also play the game offline. Pretty much everything thatSimCity2013 did not have,Cities Skylinesoffered in droves. It quickly filled the void left bySimCityto cement itself as the new king of the urban city builder.
Cities Skylines 2 Is Facing Tough Competition
UnlikeCities Skylines,Cities Skylines 2is entering a much more crowded market with one of its toughest competitors being its predecessor. The entire landscape has more than it did back when the first game launched. While some players may check outCities Skylines 2at launch, if itlaunches with less content thanCities Skylineshas, then players will have little reason to make the jump.The sequel is not benefiting from the fall of a kingpin, so if it wants to make waves, then it has to be impressive at launch.
There also seems to be a lot more city builders vying for players' attention in 2023 than there were in 2015.SimCityhad cornered that market and was getting the most attention, but the mid 2010s led to the rise of all sorts of different city-building experiences. Games likeTropico 6, Frostpunk, Surviving Mars,Anno 1800, andTownscaperhave given city builder fans more content to turn to. There are also dozens more indie city builders releasing all the time. While none of them have captured the urban city-building experience, they have all expanded the genre in new ways and helped fill various subgenres.
2023 is set to be a big year for city builders with many new experiences releasing throughout the year. Colossal Order also has plans toadd even more content toCities Skylinesbefore the year is over. The city builder landscape seems way more competitive than it did in 2015, and that could meanCities Skylines 2will face an uphill battle. However, pressure makes diamonds, and that’s hopefully the outcome here.
Cities Skylines 2is currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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