Cities Skylines 2: Gameplay, trailers, platforms & more

In a rather unexpected but incredibly welcome turn, Cities: Skylines 2 has been announced at the Paradox Announcement Show 2023, and it has got the city building community on the edge of their seat. Cities: Skylines was an incredibly well supported title that immediately emerged as one of the best city building games ever, so it is great to see it followed up with a sequel.

If you want to find out everything we know so far about Cities: Skylines 2 though we've got you covered in this handy guide. All you need to do is carry on reading below to see all of the latest details.

• Find out how to elevate roads in Cities: Skylines with this guide.

Cities: Skylines 2 release window

While we don't have a concrete release date quite yet, Paradox have confirmed that the Cities: Skylines 2 release window will be later on in 2023. This is fantastic news for anyone anticipating the game, as there is nothing worse than a new game getting announced that you're excited for, but then having to wait years to actually play it.

The first game received a whopping 50 pieces of DLC, with the Cities: Skylines - Financial Districts expansion likely to be the last with the announcement of a sequel. It is almost guaranteed that this support extends to the new game though, so you can be confident that you will have a title that is supported for years to come.

• Want a quick start or to focus on your creativity? Check out these Cities: Skylines cheats.

Cities: Skylines 2 trailers

There is currently only one trailer for Cities: Skylines 2, but it gives you a really exciting glimpse of what is to come in the new title. Any dedicated fan will be blown away by what has been shown here, and will likely be counting down the days until its inevitable release.

It is likely that we will get more information in the coming months as we get closer to the games release, and we are also only a few days wait until the eight birthday of Cities: Skylines on March 10, so it would only be right to show us all a little more then.

• See your city from a whole new perspective with this Cities: Skylines first person mod.

Cities: Skylines 2 gameplay details

Cities: Skylines offered one of the most comprehensive and detailed city building experiences yet, and its sequel Cities: Skylines 2 aims to expand upon that even further. It boasts unprecedented amounts of customisation and player control, letting you take the reigns in every aspect of the city building process.

There is apparently going to be an even more in-depth transportation system, letting you further tinker with all of those pesky traffic jams and train lines. Furthermore, enhanced economic systems will let you make money in ways you didn't think possible before, letting you flex your creative muscles with new construction options too. Who knows, we might even see the return of Poo Island.

In what is perhaps the best news though, Cities: Skylines 2 comes packed with advanced modding capabilities, meaning that you'll be able to create even better mods or take advantage of the wealth of other community creations.

Games like Cities: Skylines live off of community mods and engagement, as they breathe new life into already deep games. It really is fantastic to see Colossal Order and Paradox lean further into this aspect of the game.

• Running into the Cities: Skylines not enough goods to sell problem? Check out this guide for all of the ways to deal with it.

Cities: Skylines 2 Platforms

As opposed to the initial release of the first game, Cities: Skylines 2 will offer players a simultaneous console and PC launch. This is great for players who don't have access to a PC (or one powerful enough to run the game) but have still fallen in love with city building just the same.

Here are all of the Cities: Skylines 2 platforms available at launch:

• PC
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox Series X|S

The omission of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases is perhaps indicative of the scale of Cities: Skylines 2, both on a graphical and processing level. It is natural that improved graphics would demand a higher performing machine, and the sequel is likely going to be more taxing than the first game when it comes to the bigger cities.

So, that's everything we currently know about Cities: Skylines 2. Make sure to check out this guide for the best maps in Cities: Skylines if you want to jump back into the first game while you wait.