After months of delays and technical woes, Cities: Skylines 2 will finally get mod support, first DLC

Cities: Skylines 2 has spent months gridlocked by delays and technical issues that have caused droves of players to abandon ship. But things may be finally improving, as the developer has announced official mod support is coming alongside the game’s first paid DLC launching on March 25.

The Cities: Skylines franchise has seen better days. The first game was hailed as the best city-building sim ever made and the sequel, having much to live up to, failed to reach the same heights. Its constant technical issues and misguided development have caused many of its players and modders and creators to quit the game altogether. But recently, Cities 2 developer’s chief executive promised to fix things and the small 30-person studio seems to be following through, with Cities 2’s first DLC and official mod support coming soon.

The DLC and mod support were announced in a March 18 Paradox Forum post, with the first round of content packs featuring summer and beach-themed assets. Promptly named Beach Properties Asset Pack, the DLC aims to expand the game’s asset library, which was a point of sharp criticism from players due to its lackluster selection.

As for the modding tools, Colossal Order is looking to introduce two types modding: one set of tools for creating maps and breathtaking locations and another for creating new content based on the game’s code. Mods will be uploaded to the Paradox Mods platform and will not feature on Steam’s workshop, as announced several months earlier.

Colossal Order also updated their Cities: Skylines 2 roadmap, which aims to add two Creator Packs in the second quarter of 2024 and a Bridges and Ports expansion pack later on. The March 25 content update will also include a new radio station and “substantial” bug fixes and improvements to performance.

Both the performance and the lack of content (especially assets) have been a major point of contention for the playerbase. Due to various simulation issues, the small asset library, and poor technical performance, the game dropped to “Overwhelmingly Negative” reviews on Steam. Perhaps Colossal Order can pull a No Man’s Sky and redeem themselves in the eyes of the community.