Cities: Skylines 2 woes continue with console ports delayed indefinitely due to missed "stability and performance targets"

Cities: Skylines 2
(Image credit: Colossal Order)

Cities: Skylines 2 developer Colossal Order has been forced to delay the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S ports of the city-builder indefinitely.

In a statement posted on the Paradox forums today, it's been revealed that Colossal Order will no longer be able to ship Cities: Skylines 2 on console platforms in October. This is because the developer has "not yet met the stability and performance targets we set for the console release," it explains.

"While we are making slow but steady progress, there are still unresolved issues impacting the game in ways that harm the player experience we want to deliver," the statement continues. The Cities: Skylines 2 developer adds that the city-builder's console ports will undergo a "thorough review in August" to determine whether a new release date can be announced.

It's probably wise to not expect an announcement from Colossal Order about a release date until after the review process has concluded. "We understand this is disappointing, and it’s not what we had hoped for either. However, we are committed to keeping you informed throughout this development process, even if the updates aren’t always what we'd like," it adds.

Colossal Order is likely attempting to avoid another poor technical release with the console versions of Cities: Skylines 2. When the city-builder originally launched in October 2023, it was swiftly review-bombed on Steam, primarily because of its incredibly poor performance, including stuttering and crashes, which gave it an average review score of 'Mostly Negative.'

Cities: Skylines 2's first post-launch patch pushed the game from unplayable to merely bad in terms of performance, but the work required from Colossal Order was so extensive that weekly patches were abandoned and DLC was delayed. As recently as April, Colossal Order was still delaying Cities: Skylines 2 DLC in favor of fixing the game itself. You can see why the developer wants to avoid this all over again on consoles.

Take a look at our guide to the best city builders if you want something else to sink your time into.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.