Alongside offering a lengthy apology for the state of Cities: Skylines 2 as well as its recently-released Beach Properties DLC, CEO of developer Colossal Order, Mariina Hallikainen, and Paradox Interactive deputy CEO Mattias Lilja, have revealed that the console release of the city builder is being pushed back.
While the original plan for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Cities: Skylines 2 was set for a Spring 2024 release window, Colossal Order has now said that it can’t promise a release date for the ports. This is due to it not being able to hit the necessary levels of optimisation for a console release of the game.
That said, it expects to know more about the progress it has made with an upcoming build being finalized this month, following which a release build is tentatively being targeted for October. Before these builds have been evaluated, however, the studio has no plans on promising a release date for Cities: Skylines 2 on consoles.
“We also want to address the pending Console release. As you know, our plan was to release in Spring of this year,” the post reads. “We have been hesitant to communicate an actual release window because of the uncertainty we are facing, and to not make further promises we might not be able to keep. We have been struggling to get Cities: Skylines 2 to the necessary level of optimization for a console release, but are now hopeful that an upcoming build delivery in April will demonstrate sufficient progress for us to progress with a release candidate, and then a release build targeted for October. Before we have seen and evaluated the progress made in these builds however, we will not be able to confirm the release date, and even then, some uncertainty always remains. Our ambition is to deliver the experience that you all deserved at launch, but it will take time. It’s important to note that the team working on the console release operates separately from our PC development team, so it will be progressing without splitting our focus or time.”
Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have also responded to backlash against the city builder’s DLC by making the expansion free for all future purchasers, and refunding those who have already bought it, while also delaying all future DLC into 2025. Read more on that through here.