Breaking: Exclusive Updates on Cities: Skylines 2 Launch that Gamers Can't Miss!

Highlights

Cities: Skylines 2 will not have mod support at launch, but Paradox promises that the wait will be worth it.

To ensure inclusivity across both PC and consoles, a proprietary modding platform called Paradox Mods was chosen over established solutions like Steam Workshop. Currently in closed beta, the mod support for Cities: Skylines 2 is being developed separately, as it features an entirely new codebase and will not directly support mods from its predecessor.

Paradox Interactive has confirmed that mod support will not be available upon the release of Cities: Skylines 2. However, they reassure players that the wait for mod support will be worthwhile. The original Cities: Skylines, released in 2015, is still regarded as one of the greatest city builders ever created. This is largely due to its robust modding capabilities, which transformed the game from a captivating management simulator into a vast and endlessly replayable experience.

And while the upcoming sequel aims to capitalize on that momentum, Paradox has announced that it will not initially support third-party content upon release. This decision is largely influenced by the game's modding system, which will veer away from established frameworks such as the Steam Workshop, as seen in Cities: Skylines. Instead, the follow-up will utilize Paradox Mods, a proprietary content platform. Although this same service was previously integrated into more than a dozen other Paradox-published titles, additional development efforts are required to enable its support for Cities: Skylines 2, resulting in its unavailability on the first day.

Paradox cited "inclusivity" as the main reason for the decision to bypass existing solutions like the Steam Workshop and Nexus Mods in favor of a proprietary modding platform for Cities: Skylines 2. Expanding on this point, the publisher disclosed that by delivering community content through Paradox Mods, they will have the capability to offer these modifications on both PC and consoles. In contrast, only the PC version of the original game allowed for modding. Currently, there are no plans to support other mod platforms for this city builder, presumably to encourage the adoption of Paradox Mods.

The publisher also revealed that the mod support for Cities: Skylines 2 is currently in closed beta. During this development stage, selected third-party content creators have been granted access to enhance the game's range of modifications, according to Paradox. The fact that Cities: Skylines 2 utilizes an "entirely new codebase" implies that any mods created for its predecessor will not be directly compatible with the upcoming game.

Despite not achieving the initial performance benchmark and having to raise the game's system requirements, Paradox announced that they are moving forward with the release of Cities: Skylines 2 in 2023. The game's launch on October 24 will only be for the PC version, as the console ports have been delayed until June 30, 2024.

Source: Paradox