Paradox Interactive has officially announced Cities: Skylines – Expanded Edition, a Nintendo Switch 2 port of Colossal Order’s acclaimed 2015 city-builder that lands on the new hardware this year. The reveal brings the beloved strategy franchise to gamers on a fresh platform, but it also casts an uncomfortable spotlight on the studio’s own sequel: more than two years after launch, Cities: Skylines 2 still has no confirmed date for its long-delayed console versions.
The announcement arrived as a welcome piece of news for fans who have watched the original game continue to receive support and port across generations of hardware. Yet it simultaneously underscores how muddled the timeline remains for the follow-up title, whose journey from launch to current development has been anything but smooth.
A Feature-Packed Switch 2 Port
Cities: Skylines – Expanded Edition was developed by Tantalus Media, the studio best known for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword’s Switch port. Rather than a barebones transfer of the original build, Paradox and its partners have packed the release with substantial additions. The game will cost $49 and bundle together 10 expansions, giving players access to much of the content that accumulated over the title’s long lifespan.
Beyond the bundled DLC, the port introduces meaningful new tools. It expands the buildable area to 25 tiles, adds a dedicated map editor, and improves precision placement alongside finer environmental controls. The release also supports keyboard and mouse input, broadening how players can interact with their creations on handheld hardware.
Players will be able to choose between two performance profiles: a mode that prioritizes visual quality at 30fps, or a performance target hitting 60fps for smoother operation during complex city management sessions.
The Long Road of Cities: Skylines 2’s Console Ports
While the original franchise continues to reach new audiences, its sequel has endured a far rockier path. Cities: Skylines 2 was originally slated for a simultaneous PC and console launch in October 2023, but Paradox moved the console versions pushed back to Spring 2024 ahead of release.
The PC version eventually launched to significant criticism, proving riddled with bugs and other technical issues that forced developer Colossal Order to spend months patching problems. When the delayed console ports finally arrived on schedule in spring 2024, they were pushed back once more, this time landing in October 2024.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions slipped again, prompting a candid admission from the studio. As the developers admitted, “We have not yet met the stability and performance targets we set for the console release.” Over two years later, that port remains unfinished.
A Change in Development Leadership
The situation grew more complicated in November 2025 when Iceflake Studios took over development of Cities: Skylines 2 from Colossal Order. The studio teased plans to do “continuous work on the Editor and console editions,” but it has since gone quiet, with no further details about a release window for those versions.
The Switch 2 port offers little clarity on that front. Because Tantalus Media developed Cities: Skylines – Expanded Edition rather than Iceflake Studios, the two projects are unlikely to be connected in any significant way. The status of the Cities: Skylines 2 console ports therefore remains a genuine mystery.
“We have not yet met the stability and performance targets we set for the console release.”
Colossal Order, on Cities: Skylines 2 console ports
The contrast between the two announcements has become difficult to ignore. On one hand, a beloved classic is being lovingly reworked for cutting-edge hardware with a robust feature set and reasonable pricing. On the other, its direct successor sits in an extended state of limbo, caught between studios and without even a tentative date.
Fans following the franchise’s progress may find further commentary worth reviewing through Bluesky profile of Tomas Franzese @tomasfranzese.bsky.social, though no official update has surfaced regarding when Cities: Skylines 2 will finally reach consoles.
Looking Ahead
For now, the focus remains on the Switch 2 release itself. Players can look forward to experiencing a fully-featured version of the original city-builder with ten bundled expansions and flexible performance options once it ships.
The more pressing question hangs over Cities: Skylines 2. With Iceflake Studios holding development duties but offering no concrete timeline, and competitors like Lego Skylines already making their presence felt, the community is left wondering whether a console release will ever materialize or if it remains indefinitely in development hell.
Join the conversation