CITIES: SKYLINES II: A BIGGER CITY ON SHAKY GROUND

7.0 of 10 bananas. Better roads and bigger maps, still paying for a rough launch.

By the Alpha. PC on Steam. Updated Oct 2026.

Platforms: PC on Steam is the only button and the only version I can point you to. Console versions were announced but delayed for a long time, so this page sells the PC game only.

Sit with me a moment. I built a little harbor town, laid my first highway ramp, and watched hundreds of tiny cars find their way home. Then my frame rate fell off a cliff. That is this game in one evening: beautiful ambition and a heavy load.

What It Wants To Be

Paradox Interactive's sequel to the most popular modern city builder, released on PC October 24, 2023 and made by Colossal Order. From 2026, development moved to Paradox's Iceflake Studios. You zone land, lay roads, run services, and try to keep a growing city alive and paying its bills.

What Works

Road tools are a big step up, with clean curves, smart intersections, and better traffic behavior. Maps are huge. Citizens have life paths, jobs, and families, so the city feels more alive. Watching rush hour flow after you fix a choke point is a real reward.

What Breaks

Listen well. The launch was rough. Performance was poor even on strong PCs, the economy could break in odd ways, and mod tools came late. The first paid expansion in 2024 was thin enough that Paradox publicly apologized. It still asks for a strong machine. Some players still prefer the first game and its huge mod library.

Who Should Play

Play if you love city builders, own a strong PC, and want the newer traffic and road tools. Skip if your PC is modest or you need deep economy sim today. If you want a strategy game instead, read my Civilization VII verdict.

Related: Civilization VII, inZOI.

Store note: the troop still needs an Amazon referral for this one. Steam is the only button until that listing is real.