Paradox replaces Colossal Order: "Cities: Skylines 2" gets new development studio
Paradox is reorganising "Cities: Skylines 2" and replacing the previous developer. The decision comes at a delicate time and raises questions about the future of the game.
Paradox Interactive is parting ways with longstanding «Cities: Skylines» developer Colossal Order. After around 15 years of collaboration, Iceflake Studios, an internal Paradox team, will take over the further development of «Cities: Skylines 2».
The timing of the decision is both remarkable and surprising: two years after the bumpy release and just at a time when the game was visibly stabilising. However, the newly released DLC «Bridges & Ports» was once again criticised. A setback that is strikingly close in time to the now announced change of developer.
A change that leaves many questions unanswered
Paradox justifies the move with the «long-term future» of the series. Iceflake Studios has been working on the transition in the background for months, according to the announcement. From 2026, the studio will take over full responsibility: from technical updates and modding tools to DLCs and the console versions, everything will be their responsibility. Until then, Colossal Order will remain on board and deliver two planned DLCs before the project is fully transferred to Iceflake.
The decision is also noteworthy because Colossal Order has recently stabilised the game to some extent. The biggest performance problems have been fixed, the simulation runs smoother and the Community has been reacting noticeably more positively for months.
The early problems still reverberate
Despite this, the shadow of the release remains long. When «Cities: Skylines 2» was released in October 2023, it was notable for its poor performance, technical instability and lack of features. Many saw the responsibility for this less with Colossal Order than with the publisher. Paradox was seen as the driving force behind a too early release and was criticised shortly afterwards for unfortunate communication.
The first year was characterised by several contradictory statements on performance, repeatedly postponed roadmaps and the early continuation of DLC plans despite a broken base. While Colossal Order announced technical updates on a weekly basis, Paradox often seemed unclear or too late in its reactions. The resulting loss of trust is still noticeable today.
«Bridges & Ports» as a possible trigger
With the release of the DLC «Bridges & Ports» at the end of October, Paradox was once again criticised. Many players criticised the small scope and technical inconsistencies. Precisely because the main game had previously stabilised, the DLC seemed like a step backwards. The temporal connection between the release and the now announced relaunch therefore raises the question of whether the negative response played a role in the decision. Although this has not been officially confirmed, the timing is striking.
What happens now
In Iceflake Studios, an internal team that has already worked on construction games but not on the scale of «Cities: Skylines» is now taking over. The challenge is correspondingly high: the studio has to take over a complex code base and at the same time drive forward future development.
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