Welcome back to the monthly State of the Game megathread for October!

September turned out to be significantly busier than expected. We got a new free patch, major simulation changes, expanded modding tools, a new Expansion Pass, Iceflake's first announced expansion, another developer Q&A, and—because this is still Cities: Skylines II—a few new things for us to collectively stare at and ask, "Is that supposed to be doing that?"

So, let's take a look at where things stand heading into October.

🍂 Autumn Breeze — Patch v1.6.2f1

Released September 15, 2026

The biggest change since our last State of the Game thread is the release of Autumn Breeze, replacing Summer Solstice as the current live PC version.

The update focused primarily on simulation logic, performance, visuals, the Asset Editor, and Paradox Mods.

Garbage Collection

Garbage trucks received new routing and capacity logic.

Trucks now reserve enough capacity for the building they are actually being dispatched to and are more willing to skip buildings with very small amounts of garbage along the way.

Garbage also now has a larger effect on citizen happiness.

In other words, the garbage truck has finally been reminded that it was dispatched somewhere for a reason.

Companies & Resources

Company renting priorities were changed so businesses producing resources your city actually needs are given priority when searching for available properties.

This is intended to:

• Improve the variety of companies spawning in commercial and industrial areas.
• Better align businesses with actual city resource demand.
• Make demand bars respond more accurately.
• Provide groundwork for continued resource-economy improvements.

Offices can also now import Software from outside connections.

Residential Demand

Residential demand calculations were adjusted to better account for extremely large cities.

The simulation now considers both city population and the number of empty residential properties when calculating the effect of available housing.

This should address cases where residential demand could effectively collapse in very large cities despite additional housing still being needed.

Citizen Finances

Citizen decisions involving shopping, leisure, and happiness now rely more heavily on income instead of accumulated wealth.

Additional citizen fixes include:

• Young adults should no longer immediately move out of their parents' homes unless they can actually afford housing.
• Several situations where citizens abandoned vehicles were fixed.
• Homeless households should be less likely to become stuck while coordinating family trips.

Performance & Technical Improvements

Autumn Breeze also included another round of smaller performance improvements.

These include:

• Improved tree LOD performance.
• Smarter selection of asset LOD levels.
• General simulation optimizations.
• Reduced memory usage.
• Improved wind simulation performance.
• Optimization passes on numerous existing assets.

Iceflake has been clear that performance work is still ongoing.

In its September Q&A, the studio explained that CPU-side pathfinding remains one of the larger technical challenges, while additional GPU, rendering, memory, and simulation optimization continues.

Some of this work is also directly connected to the continuing effort to get the game running within console memory and performance limits.

There is still plenty of road ahead here, especially once cities start getting stupidly large.

Visual Improvements

Autumn Breeze continued the terrain and rendering work introduced earlier this year.

Changes include:

• Waterway Pass and Lakeland received hand-painted terrain improvements.
• Surface lighting now follows the underlying terrain normals.
• Tree LODs were improved.
• Moonlight shadows were restored after being unintentionally disabled.
• Window lighting behavior was corrected for assets configured to always remain lit or unlit.
• Support was added for frosted and opaque windows.
• A new European Spruce tree was added.

Asset Editor Improvements

Several previously previewed Asset Editor improvements are now live.

These include:

• The new -startEditor launch parameter.
• Asset filtering improvements.
• Multi-select when adding assets.
• Improved window import controls.
• Frosted and opaque window support.
• Additional window color and lighting controls.
• Fixes for excessive color palette data accumulating in custom maps and saves.
• Additional Editor usability fixes.

Work on the Editor and custom asset pipeline remains ongoing.

Paradox Mods & Launcher Improvements

Autumn Breeze also brought several additions to Paradox Mods.

Among the bigger changes:

• Mods can now have Collaborators.
• Mods can be managed through the Paradox Launcher.
• Playsets now support automatic mod downloading as an optional setting.
• Mods can be managed while offline.
• Tags can be excluded when browsing.
• Several playset and browsing bugs were fixed.

The patch also updated the game's UI framework, so some code mods required updates after the patch.

Existing save games remain supported.

As always, if you're running a heavily modded city and the game suddenly decides life is optional, check your mod compatibility before sacrificing your save file to Chirper.

City Corner #12 — Simulation, Performance & Player Control

Earlier in September, Iceflake published another Q&A addressing several recurring community questions.

The studio explained that its current development approach generally follows three stages:

1. Fix the underlying system or bug.
2. Observe how the simulation behaves afterward.
3. Then determine whether balancing changes or larger reworks are required.

Iceflake specifically used logistics as an example of a system where one apparent problem may actually involve resource availability, vehicle routing, company behavior, or several systems interacting at once.

The developers also discussed giving players more direct control over parts of the simulation.

Instead of requiring players to micromanage individual businesses, Iceflake has discussed possibilities such as more control over resources or production at the district or city level.

Nothing specific has been announced yet, but the studio appears interested in providing more meaningful control over the simulation without turning the game into Spreadsheet Simulator 2026.

Expansion Pass 2

September also brought the announcement and release of Expansion Pass 2, marking Iceflake's first major paid-content roadmap since taking over development.

The pass includes:

• Two expansions.
• Three Creator Packs.
• One radio station.
• One instant-unlock content set.

Downtown Market Set — Available Now

Expansion Pass 2 owners immediately receive the Downtown Market Set.

It includes:

• A container-based commercial/social hub.
• Placeable food trucks.
• Additional smaller shops.
• A new Scottish-inspired temperate map.

Park Adventures — Q4 2026

The first full expansion developed by Iceflake will be Park Adventures, currently scheduled for Q4 2026.

The expansion introduces a modular park-building system where players draw their own park areas and fill them with different attractions and facilities.

Four park types are planned:

• City Parks
• Zoos
• Amusement Parks
• Nature Reserves

Parks will level up as they attract visitors and include their own management systems for:

• Ticket prices.
• Staffing.
• Maintenance.
• Park ratings.

The expansion is planned to include more than 100 assets and five new maps.

Yes, we are basically getting Parklife 2: Electric Boogaloo.

And honestly? Fine by me.

Expansion Pass 2 Roadmap

Following Park Adventures, the currently announced schedule is:

Q1 2027

• Modern Suburbs — Creator Pack by Trist1322
• First Response — Creator Pack by Arthaix
• Corner Street Beats — Radio Station

Q2 2027

• City Vacations — Expansion focused on tourism
• Map Pack — Seven new maps by Uncle Ron

City Vacations is planned to expand tourism significantly, including seasonal visitor numbers and additional tools for influencing where tourists arrive, travel, stay, and spend money.

Community Reports Following v1.6.2f1

As always, a major simulation update has produced a few reports worth keeping an eye on.

These are community-reported issues and should not currently be treated as confirmed official bugs unless Iceflake says otherwise.

Hydroelectric Dams

Multiple players have reported hydroelectric dams suddenly operating at 0% efficiency after the Autumn Breeze update.

Some reports are from completely vanilla games, so this may not be mod-related.

"Not Enough Customers"

There has also been a noticeable increase in reports involving commercial businesses displaying "Not Enough Customers" after v1.6.2f1.

Players have reported the warning appearing even in cities with:

• High commercial demand.
• Significant nearby population.
• Fully staffed businesses.
• Adequate stock.
• Good traffic and transit access.

Because Autumn Breeze directly changed company priorities, imports, citizen finances, and shopping behavior, it is possible some cities are simply adjusting to the new simulation rules.

However, the number of reports means this is something we'll be watching throughout October.

If you're experiencing either issue, please include whether you're playing vanilla or modded, your city population, and your current version when discussing it here.

Console Update

There is still no confirmed release date for Cities: Skylines II on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S.

Iceflake continues to state that the console version is actively being worked on, and performance and memory optimization remain important parts of that effort.

Until Paradox announces an actual release window, we're not going to try to manufacture one.

Console players remain at the bus stop.

The bus is technically still on the route.

We simply have no idea where the bastard currently is.

Looking Ahead

As we enter October, the major things to watch are:

• Additional fixes following Autumn Breeze.
• Continued simulation and performance improvements.
• Further Asset Editor improvements.
• Continued development of the resource economy and logistics systems.
• Potential follow-up on post-patch commercial and hydroelectric issues.
• More information regarding Park Adventures ahead of its Q4 2026 release.
• Continued console development.

As of October 4, 2026, no newer major game update has replaced Autumn Breeze.

Current State

As of October 4, 2026:

• Current PC Version: v1.6.2f1 — Autumn Breeze
• Latest Major Update: Autumn Breeze — Released September 15
• Expansion Pass 2: Available
• Downtown Market Set: Available
• Next Expansion: Park Adventures — Q4 2026
• Asset Editor Development: Ongoing
• Simulation / Performance Work: Ongoing
• Console Version: In Development — No Release Date

Guidelines

• Ask questions about the current state of the game, performance, bugs, patches, mods, or upcoming content here.
• Share your experiences with Autumn Breeze and let us know how your existing cities handled the simulation changes.
• If you're reporting bugs, please include whether you're playing vanilla or modded and include your game version.
• If you're experiencing the new commercial or hydroelectric issues, providing your population and relevant city information may help other users compare results.
• Posts asking "is the game worth it now?", "has the game improved?", or "what's the current state of the game?" outside this thread may be removed and redirected here.

We'll keep this thread updated throughout October if Iceflake releases another patch, City Corner, Park Adventures news, or anything else significant.

Last updated by mods: October 4, 2026.

Hello everyone,

About seven months ago, we introduced Rule #12 prohibiting AI-generated images and videos on r/CitiesSkylines2.

At the time, the problem was mostly AI-generated "city screenshots" being passed around as concepts or inspiration. Our position was pretty simple: this is a subreddit about Cities: Skylines 2. We want to see the cities you actually built, the interchanges you spent three hours redesigning, and the traffic disaster you accidentally created because one intersection decided to ruin the lives of 40,000 citizens.

Since then, generative AI has started appearing somewhere else in the community:

Mods.

With the continued growth of the PDX Mods ecosystem, we have seen an increasing amount of mod content using AI-generated artwork, textures, thumbnails, assets, and other generated material.

After discussion among the moderation team, we have decided to expand Rule #12.

Rule #12: No AI-Generated Content or AI-Generated Mods

Effective immediately, r/CitiesSkylines2 will not allow submissions promoting, showcasing, distributing, or directing users toward mods containing generative-AI-created assets.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• AI-generated images, artwork, thumbnails, or promotional material
• AI-generated textures, decals, logos, or other visual assets
• AI-generated 3D models or similar game assets
• AI-generated voices, music, or other audio
• Mods substantially built around generative-AI-created content
• Posts advertising or showcasing mods containing the above

This rule is not intended to police ordinary development tools.

Using autocomplete, debugging assistance, documentation tools, or similar programming assistance does not automatically make a mod "AI-generated." Our concern is generative AI being used as a substitute for the creative work ultimately presented to players.

We also want to make something very clear:

Do not start witch hunts.

If you believe a submission or mod violates Rule #12, report it and let the moderation team review it.

Do not harass creators, brigade mod pages, or start accusations based solely on something "looking AI-generated." The mod team will handle enforcement based on the available evidence.

Cities: Skylines has always been powered by an absurdly talented modding community. Modders spend hundreds or thousands of hours creating assets, maps, code, tools, textures, and systems that dramatically improve the game.

That work deserves to be recognized.

We would rather promote the people actually creating things for this community than watch the workshop slowly turn into an AI-generated asset landfill.

Keep creating.
Keep modding.
Keep building ridiculous highway interchanges.

And for the love of Chirper, please stop giving every neighborhood a six-lane arterial.

— The r/CitiesSkylines2 Mod Team

Hello Mayors!

It’s time for another City Corner, and this time, we will be talking about an aspect in Cities: Skylines II that hasn’t really been touched upon in our previous updates: the Asset Editor. We have started working on improving the modding tools, and there are a number of quality-of-life improvements we want to highlight in this City Corner, like smoother workflows, asset localization, and placement overrides.

We will also take a look at the mod support and what our plans are when it comes to managing your mods. Let’s get started, shall we!

​

Smoother Workflows in the Editor​

Let’s begin with the Editor. For our upcoming patch, we have started working on improving the tools in the Asset Editor, aimed at reducing repetitive clicks and making it easier for creators to navigate and edit their assets.

First, we have added a new launch parameter -startEditor to open the Asset Editor on startup. This allows you to launch straight into the editor, without having to go through the Main Menu first.

We’ve added controls to expand or collapse all components in the Inspector panel at once, making it much easier to explore an asset’s underlying structure or quickly reach a specific component. Creators can choose whether components are expanded or collapsed by default in the options, use the dedicated buttons, or assign their own shortcut to toggle between the two states.

We’ve also reviewed the editor’s Inspector panels to remove unnecessary layers of collapsed containers where possible. Previously, creators could sometimes need to expand a component and then expand another container inside it before reaching the relevant fields. These inner containers are now kept open in many places, removing an extra step from the workflow.

Another improvement focuses on the long lists of props and other items attached to assets. Each item in these lists has its own container showing information such as its position or spawn probability. Previously, the item’s name was only visible after expanding that container, which meant creators could have to open many entries across several pages just to find the one they wanted.

Item names are now displayed alongside their Element IDs while the containers are collapsed, making lists much easier to scan. We’ve also added a search bar to these lists, allowing creators to filter them by either an item’s name or its Element ID.

the previous improvement, selecting a propped item on an asset now displays its Element ID in the Object Info panel alongside information such as its local position and probability. Creators can copy that ID into the list search to quickly locate the corresponding entry.

​

Asset Localization Tool Improvements​

We’ve made several improvements to the process of adding localized names and descriptions, which is the translated text displayed according to the language in which the game is being played.

A new Add All Translations button lets creators add slots for every supported language at once, rather than selecting Add Translation separately for each one. With 12 languages currently supported, this saves a lot of extra clicks for each name or description section.

Description fields now properly support multiline text as well. While asset descriptions already supported new lines and paragraphs, the Editor’s input field did not correctly recognize the Enter key as a new line. This has now been fixed, allowing descriptions to be formatted directly inside the Editor.

Creators can also copy the localization from one asset and paste it into another. This is particularly helpful when creating multiple variations of the same asset, as the shared text can be transferred in one step instead of copying each field individually or relying on a separate spreadsheet.

​

New Placement Overrides for Propping​

Our final highlight for the editor is a new Overrides tool option that becomes available when snapping is enabled while placing props on an asset. It provides three optional overrides that can be applied as each item is placed:

​

Parent Mesh lets creators specify which mesh the prop should be attached to, ensuring that it moves together with that mesh.​

Group Index lets creators set this technical parameter during placement. Group Index can influence several behaviours, including synchronized spawn probability and colour variation selection, so setting it in advance avoids having to update every placed item individually.​

Probability lets creators set an item’s spawn probability while placing it.

When enabled, it defaults to 100%, ensuring that placed items will always appear unless the creator chooses another value between 1% and 100%.​

Each override can be enabled independently, or creators can use any combination of the three. This makes it possible to define important properties during placement instead of placing each item first and then editing it individually afterward.

​

Launcher Mod Support​

In addition to the Asset Editor, we are also working on improving the mod support with the help of the PDX Mods team. Many of the changes here have been requested by you, and while we don’t have an exact date for these changes yet, we wanted to share the progress with you!

As the title of this section suggests, we are adding a feature to the launcher, which allows you to manage your mods even before starting your game. When the launcher opens up, you can select your active playset. If that playset is somehow corrupted or outdated, the launcher will display a warning, which you can hover over to see what the launcher thinks might be the issue. The launcher will also attempt to update any mods from the PDX Mods backend that you may have installed, or that might be missing from your current computer.

You can also set a playset to be off-disk, which means you will retain your playset, but mods won’t be downloaded and installed. This will be useful for the playsets that you want to keep, but are not actively using. In addition, the launcher will allow you to create new playsets, remove old ones, and edit existing ones. The naming of this feature is still subject to change.

Of course, we’re hoping to expand on these features by adding even more functionality in the future. For example, we’d like to let you change the location of your downloaded mods or spread them across multiple locations, which is something many of you have been requesting! These features are still in the works, but we will keep you in the loop as the development progresses.

​

To be continued…​

Our work on editor improvements, as well as mod support, is guided by feedback shared across our community, on the forums, and from our Creator Program. We look forward to continuing to improve the Editor and Mod experience over time, and if you have any ideas for things that would help you in the future, please let us know!

With that being said, thank you for reading! We hope you have enjoyed this look at what we’ve been working on, and we look forward to sharing more with you. We will be back soon in the next City Corner with more information about our upcoming patch, so stay tuned!​

Forum Link

Hello Mayors!

Six months ago, we at Iceflake Studios took the mantle of development of Cities: Skylines II. Since then, our primary goals have been to improve the game, address long-standing issues, and build a stronger foundation, so we can optimize and develop the game well into the future.

Working on this game for the short time that we have has been very satisfying. We have been very busy, but the rewards have made it all worthwhile. Taking on a big project like Cities: Skylines II might have been daunting at first, but all the great feedback we have received, along with the kind words and communication from the community, has made the experience even more enjoyable and rewarding.

In this City Corner, we are taking a look back at what we’ve accomplished during these first six months, and highlighting some of the biggest improvements that have made their way into the game.
​

Overview of the Patches​

Our first major update, First Frost, focused on both the simulation and the overall player experience. We tackled several long-standing issues, like, for example, the death waves. We also rebalanced bicycle usage, improved nighttime visibility, updated weather and fog systems, and introduced the Color Customization tool, which gave you a first taste of customizing the appearance of your cities. Alongside these, we updated the UI, improved the landscaping tools such as terraforming, and gave you more freedom with tree placement.

The updates that followed continued that work across multiple areas of the game. In the Anniversary Update, we introduced one of the community's most requested features: the ability to toggle road zoning, giving players greater control over how and where development occurs. We also added our first new asset, the Iceflake Arena, expanded gameplay options, and introduced the in-game Encyclopedia, making it easier for both new and experienced players to find information about the game's systems.

As spring progressed, our focus shifted toward improving city management and player control. Our fourth patch, Spring Cleaning, introduced the Historic Building option, allowing players to preserve buildings they wanted to keep from being upgraded. We also gave more freedom to customize your UI by adding transparency and scaling options, which were both suggested by you immediately after the release of the new UI. We also continued working together with the Paradox Mods team, giving better mod management and download systems.

Morning Dew continued our work on quality-of-life improvements. We expanded asset filtering options, improved several creator-focused workflows, refined tool behavior, and addressed visual issues affecting shadow rendering. While smaller in scope than some previous updates, Morning Dew focused on smoothing out everyday city-building and addressing issues reported by the community.

Most recently, we had Summer Solstice, which focused on improving both the visual quality of the game and some of its underlying simulation systems. This patch introduced a complete rework of terrain rendering, improved terrain shading, depth perception, and overall landscape quality. We also added terrain painting tools, which allowed you to paint and blend terrain textures directly in-game and in the Editor.

Of course, all of these updates included fixes and improvements across the simulation, performance, and stability as well. For example, with Spring Cleaning, we introduced our Benchmarking tool, which marked the first steps towards making the performance of the game better for everyone. Some of these changes, like the improvements on traffic pathfinding introduced in Morning Dew, are not always immediately noticeable and might even work behind the scenes, but they still have an effect on the overall performance and simulation.
​

Statistics​

Since we’re all here and we love our numbers and charts, let’s look at some statistics, shall we! Starting from January up until now, we have fixed 200+ bugs and added 40+ new features and improvements! To elaborate, we wanted to show you a chart on how these bug fixes and improvements have been divided between different aspects of the game.

A pie chart of the fixed bugs and what their focus has been.​

As you can see from the pie chart above, most of these fixes have been focusing on the UI and Interface, with a large chunk focusing on the gameplay and simulation as well. A good example of these fixes includes the various icon and UI bugs, but also stuck citizens, demand bars not filling correctly, and shadow flickering.

New features and improvements in a pie chart.​

When it comes to new features, you can see that the biggest chunk here has gone into the UI and visual improvements. The new features in the chart include, but are not limited to, the Historic Building option, Benchmark tool, the Encyclopedia and Iceflake Arena, whereas the improvements in the chart include the Education system rebalancing, cycling policy adjustments, and performance optimizations.

As mentioned before, we will continue working on the different aspects mentioned in both of these charts, but also wish to dive even deeper into these themes when the time is right.

What's next?​

As the summer is slowly reaching its zenith and coming to an end here in Finland, we are already working toward the next updates. While our next patch will not be as content-heavy, it will still include bug fixes and a few tweaks to the simulation. As per usual, we will get into all the details about the next update in a future City Corner dedicated to the patch itself! Looking into the horizon, we have also been working on a DLC - we will tell you more about it at a later date when we are ready!

We’re so excited for you to be along for the journey; here’s to another 6 months, 1 year, and further into the future!

City Corner #9

Patch Notes

> This patch can affect some custom maps, but loading of old maps and savegames is supported.

Gameplay

• Fixed a bug where citizens would always travel to the shop with the most stock, completely ignoring distance.
• Households now re-evaluate moving home less often, improving performance in large cities.
• Tourists, commuters, and vacationers now walk along highway shoulders less often when entering or leaving the city.
• Fixed citizens taking absurdly long trips across the entire map.
  • Pathfinding limits are now tailored per trip type (work, school, shopping, and leisure) instead of using a shared near-unlimited cap.
  • Citizens who can't find a viable route now handle it gracefully:
    • Move-outs teleport off-map.
    • Workers leave their job.
    • Leisure-seekers remain home and retry later.
• Known Remaining Issue: Students may still occasionally walk too far.
• Office goods can now be purchased from outside connections, improving supply chains when local sources are unavailable.
• Fixed legal U-turn costs to allow citizens to use dedicated lanes more flexibly.
• Lowered illegal U-turn costs to match intended limits.
• Adjusted commercial demand slightly lower for balancing.
• Fixed buildings sometimes losing road access after leveling up.
• Terraforming and painting tools now scale strength with brush size more effectively.
• You can now paint and erase terrain materials in-game.

UI

• Small polish to button styling.
• Added Info and Customize tabs to the selected info panel for buildings with customization options.
• Fixed a bug where the first data point on the production statistics graph appeared abnormally small at the start of a new game.
• Added a toggle to show or hide contour lines, including a new (unbound by default) keybind.
• The Battery Depleted warning icon no longer remains on emergency battery stations that have been refilled.
• Added terrain texture painting tools to both the in-game editor and map editor.
  • Includes brush selection.
  • Includes brush rotation (Shift + Mouse Wheel).
• Fixed the Benchmark screen incorrectly displaying a 60 Hz refresh rate regardless of the monitor being used.

Visual

• Terrain texturing has been significantly overhauled.
• Terrain material blending now uses texture detail for more natural transitions.
• Texture tiling now uses three levels of detail instead of two.
• Rock texturing now uses projections from three axes instead of top-down projection only.
• All Temperate biome maps now feature:
  • Reworked grass materials.
  • Reworked dirt materials.
  • Reworked rock materials.
  • Four new paintable ground materials.
• Fixed terrain normals causing terrain to appear flatter than intended.
• Fixed shoreline alignment issues with water.
• Added additional painted map textures for:
  • Archipelago Haven
  • Great Highlands
  • Twin Mountain
  • River Delta
  • Mountain Village
• Updated map borders with improved dashed-line visibility and a dark outline.
• Lower Texture Quality settings now reduce VRAM usage and improve GPU performance.
• Fixed visible shadow rings at certain camera angles.
• Improved shadow quality and reduced low-sun artifacts.
• Added a toggle to hide snow visuals without affecting gameplay simulation.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed localization issues in Polish and Spanish.
• Fixed a JavaScript error that could prevent the Paradox Launcher from starting.
• Updated credits.

Mods

• Fixed an issue where saves could fail to load when referencing missing modded or custom content.
• Mod error notifications now display mod names instead of IDs after restarting the game.
• Gizmos now only appear for transparent objects and the currently selected object.
• Widgets now only display on selected assets.
• Fixed an issue where read-only prefabs could incorrectly be saved as assets in the editor.
• Fixed map save issues when using custom climate, water, or terrain settings.
• Added tooltips for editor materials.
• Fixed maps with custom terrain textures being unable to save.

Paradox Mods

• Added a new Playsets tab to creator pages for showcasing shared playsets.
• Added support for Bluesky and coff.ee links.
• Tags can now be collapsed and are collapsed by default.
• Fixed an issue where mods were not loaded in certain situations, including sync conflicts.
• Fixed an issue where mods could occasionally fail to download.
• Fixed an issue where mod synchronization could fail due to corrupted files.

Known Issues

Paradox Mods

• The Time dropdown for popular mods always returns 30 days, regardless of the selected option, when browsing in-game.
• The filter continues to work correctly on the web version.

Patch Notes

Greetings Mayors!

Sini here, the Community Manager for Cities: Skylines II. In this City Corner, we will be talking about all things Community and really get into how community feedback continues to help shape the development of Cities: Skylines II. Over the past few months, we have been exploring new ways to communicate more directly with you through our new streams, social media, and community events. At the same time, we’ve been paying close attention to discussions happening across different platforms, like Paradox Forums, Reddit, Discord, etc., to better understand which topics, features, and improvements are currently the “most wanted” to you!

Now, let’s dig in, shall we!

Streaming​

Last month, we had our first official stream, hosted by Toadie and me, where we went through some of the changes and improvements included in our latest patch, Spring Cleaning! Ever since starting this project, streaming was something that we really wanted to explore, as it gives us an opportunity to communicate with you in real time and showcase upcoming changes in a more direct and personal way. Since then, we have had the pleasure of hosting three streams, and as you might have guessed, there is plenty more to come in the future!

Streams have already proven to be an excellent way for us to connect with you. Not only can we show upcoming features and improvements, but we also get the opportunity to answer your questions, hear your immediate reactions, and simply spend time together talking about Cities: Skylines II. We think that the reception for the streams has been positive, and we’re having a blast!

In the future, we want to experiment even more with what streams could offer. This could include deeper dives into upcoming content, developer-focused Q&A sessions, gameplay challenges, and potentially collaborations with content creators from the community. We are still trying new things and learning what works best for streaming, so as always, we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions for future streams, and what you would like to see!

Reddit​

In addition to streaming, we have dipped our toes into the world of Reddit. Last week, we hosted our very first Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), where we answered questions sent by you.

To say that the response exceeded our expectations would be quite an understatement. We received over 600 questions in total, which genuinely surprised us, but also made us extremely happy! The amount of passion, curiosity, and detailed feedback you shared reminded us, once again, how invested you are in the future of this game. We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated, whether it was by asking questions, reading answers, or simply following the discussion. We have already discussed how we can host more AMA’s and similar community events in the future, so keep your eyes peeled!

Why is it important to us​

We are actively lurking in PDX Forums, Reddit, Discord, and other social media platforms to see what you think about the newest changes we are planning to make, as well as what kind of things you would like us to add to the game. In fact, we have gathered a lot of suggestions and other recurring topics from you into a feedback / suggestions list, which we regularly review together with the team. A few examples of these suggestions coming into fruition include the hex code addition to the color customization tool, a historical toggle for buildings, and the ability to adjust the transparency of the new toolbar. This list acts as a guide when we are planning new content and improvements to systems that already exist within the game.

One of our goals moving forward is to continue improving transparency and finding better ways to involve you in the process, whether that’s through streams, AMA’s, forum discussions, or other community activities. While not every suggestion can be implemented (replacing all citizens with dogs would be funny, but not something that we can prioritize, unfortunately), we want to create more opportunities for meaningful conversations about the game and where your expectations currently are. That being said, don’t be afraid to post your craziest ideas to the Paradox Forums’ Suggestions board, or our Discord’s suggestions channel!

Looking forward​

As we continue the work ahead, community engagement will remain one of our top priorities. We know that there is still a lot of work ahead of us to bring Cities: Skylines II to its full potential, and your feedback continues to help shape where we should focus our efforts next. We are still experimenting with different formats and approaches, but overall the goal remains the same: to communicate more consistently, share more information about ongoing development, and create additional ways to engage with our team.

As always, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and thoughts with us, and we will see you in the next City Corner!

Forum Link

This patch should not affect mods, and loading of old savegames is supported.

After our latest patch, we received a lot of reports about the long loading times that occurred when starting the game. Thank you again for your comments and patience while we were working on a solution! We have now prepared a hotfix that addresses this issue, which you can read more about below.

Paradox Mods:

• Fixed long loading times when mods are loaded at startup.

Misc:

• Info and Warning level logging no longer print callstacks to log files.

• Fixed a crash when loading a save game.

Post-mortem

When you started the game after the recent patch, you might have noticed that the startup loading times were a lot longer than in previous versions, especially if you had large amounts of mods active. Due to changes in the PDX Mods SDK, the way mods were loaded by the game added an unintentional side effect that we were not aware of.

To be more specific, the issue causing long loading times on startup was related to mods adding new entries to localization. When new entries were added, it caused reinitialisation of the whole PDX Mods platform, which is a heavy operation. That caused CPU usage to spike on loading, and it was multiplied by the amount of mods that added new localization strings. Any mod that added new localization strings were affected, whether it was a code mod or an asset mod.

We should have caught this in our testing, but our test set contained only around 100 mods. To make sure this does not happen in the future, we will increase this test set significantly and improve our mod testing in general. In the long run, we are also preparing steps to reduce the issues where new patches cause issues with mods. We will discuss more about this in our future City Corners.

Forum Link

Welcome to the monthly State of the Game megathread for May! This is your one-stop shop for what's been happening with Cities: Skylines II. The mod team will keep this post updated throughout the month.

For background on why we're doing this, see the highlighted thread in regards to State of the game.

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May 2026 Updates

May has kicked off with a significant content update from Iceflake Studios, focusing on major community-requested features and technical tools.

🔧 May Content Update (v1.5.7f1) — Free Update

• Historic Building Toggle — A massive win for city painters. You can now designate any building as "Historic" in its info panel. This locks the visual model, preventing it from changing when the building levels up or is abandoned, so your custom-built neighborhoods stay exactly how you designed them.

• Integrated Benchmark Tool — Now available in the Options menu. This tool runs a standardized simulation to test your hardware performance, providing a breakdown of frame times and CPU/GPU utilization to help you optimize your settings.

• Zoning Toggles — Official support for toggling zoning on or off on one or both sides of a road. This effectively integrates the functionality of popular community mods directly into the base game UI.

• Transit AI Adjustments — Logic updates to citizen move-in behavior. This patch reduces the "taxi swarm" at city entrances, which should noticeably improve traffic flow at highway interchanges and transit hubs.

⚠️ Known Issue: Long Loading Times

• The developers are officially investigating reports of significantly increased loading times.
• Some players are reporting that the game hangs for 10-20 minutes during initial boot or save loading, particularly on systems with large mod lists or multiple official asset packs.
• Current Status: Iceflake is looking into the mod validation queue as the potential culprit. We will update this thread as soon as a hotfix or official workaround is announced.

👀 Looking Ahead

• Iceflake continues to tease the "Summer Expansion" for late Q2 2026.
• The team is prioritizing high-population performance (150k+ citizens) for the next stability patch.

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Console Update

• There has been no updates or release timeline for console; any updates will be announced when they arrive separately!

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Guidelines

• Ask questions about the current state of the game, performance, bugs, or the v1.5.7f1 patch here.

• Share your experiences with the new loading issues — if you've found a fix or a way to speed things up, let the community know.

• Posts asking "is the game worth it now?" or "what's the current state of the game?" outside this thread may be removed and redirected here.

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This thread is posted on the 1st of each month. Last updated by mods: May 1, 2026.

Patch 1.5.7f1: The "Maybe Your City Won't Explode" Update

Welcome, Mayors

Patch 1.5.7f1 is live. We want your feedback. Submit bug reports on our forum for anything you want to report after playing.

Paradox Mods Overhaul

Big changes hit Paradox Mods. Previously, actions required downloads to complete before you could keep browsing.

• Independent Actions: Mod downloads and browsing no longer depend on each other.
• Parallel Downloads: Added parallel downloads (up to 3) and a queueing process for better precision.
• SDK Update: Script-mod creators must recompile mods to be compatible. Give them time to update to avoid glitches.

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New Features

• Historic Building Option: Prevent selected buildings from leveling up or being abandoned.
• Performance Testing: New "Benchmark" tab in the main menu; use launch parameter -benchmark to start on boot.
• Encyclopedia: Added "Building Customization" and "Road Zones" chapters.
• UI Scaling: Added toolbar scaling and opacity settings.
• Universal Mod Button: A unified menu for mod creators in the main UI.

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Gameplay Fixes

• Traffic Control: Stopped citizens from using taxis for move-ins to reduce congestion.
• Pet Management: Reduced dog population by adjusting household limits. (No dogs were harmed; affects new households).
• Education: Balanced elementary and high school demand to fix underused high schools.
• Crime: Reduced cases where citizens get stuck during robberies.
• Policies: "Urban Cycling Initiative" now increases bicycle usage from 20% to 50%.
• Zoning & Demand:
  • Fixed mixed housing killing commercial/medium-density demand.
  • Fixed signature offices dropping office demand while occupied.
  • Fixed office demand data errors causing too many Software companies.
  • Fixed commercial buildings receiving no customers. Demand now depends on average stock.
• Logistics & Pathfinding:
  • Fixed outside connections for non-highway roads.
  • Fixed students only participating in leisure during study time.
  • Fixed vehicles getting stuck in boarding states at busy stops.
  • Fixed building upgrades stalling during resource delivery frames.
  • Fixed port mail transfer pathfinding.
  • Fixed offices stopping production or trading.

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UI & Visuals

UI Enhancements

• Added toolbar size and transparency adjustments.
• Added Encyclopedia tooltips.
• Updated base game and B&P achievement icons.
• Bug Fixes: Fixed Photo Mode visual mismatches, CJK character crashes in Encyclopedia, and controller issues with service building upgrades.

Visual Improvements

• Smoother wind transitions for vegetation.
• Disabled moon/daylight shadow casting during opposite times for performance.
• Iceflake Arena: Added parking slots (requires rebuild) and adjusted LOD distances.

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Miscellaneous & DLC

• General: Limited main menu to 120 FPS; improved database corruption error messages; fixed localized text.
• Bridges & Ports: Fixed commercial/industrial buildings ignoring DLC ports for imports; updated achievement icons.
• Paradox Mods (Technical):
  • Updated SDK to 2.1.2; UI to 2.0.4.
  • Playset sharing and improved progress tracking.
  • Manage playsets without waiting for downloads; improved sync conflict popups.
  • Assets now require thumbnails for publishing.

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Known Issues (The "Still Broken" List)

• Download Size: Larger than usual due to internal build changes (one-time issue).
• Microsoft Store: Missing taskbar icon.
• Robberies: Rarely, police/robbers still get stuck.
• Shadows: Cascade calculations causing incorrect drawing from low angles.

Patch Notes