Cities: Skylines 2 developer Colossal Order has admitted it is no closer to announcing a console release date for the beleaguered city-builder sequel as it has run into what it calls “hardware limitations” that affect performance on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
Cities: Skylines 2 was originally due to release for Xbox and PlayStation 5 alongside the PC launch last October, but Colossal Order and Paradox announced a last-minute delay, pushing it to 2024 to give it “more time to hit the quality goals we have.” “. place”. However, following the game‘s disastrous launch on PC, plagued by complaints of poor performance and simulation issues, Paradox opted to delay its console release indefinitely.
Since then, we haven’t heard much about the game‘s progress on Xbox and PlayStation, but Colossal Order has now shared an update on Steam, detailing some of the challenges it faces in bringing Cities: Skylines 2 to consoles. “Currently, we are experiencing simulation (CPU) and graphics (GPU) issues that are noticeable when players perform certain actions that cause frame rate drops or memory overload,” he explained. “These problems are particularly difficult due to the hardware limitations of the consoles.”
“For example,” he continued, “when placing larger buildings that involve numerous entities, the system has difficulty handling the data load. During the calculation process (for example, checking if there is enough space or if any entity overlaps with existing assets), performance bottlenecks arise resulting in these notable problems.”
Colossal Order says it’s gotten the game to a “stable, playable state” on consoles by “significantly reducing the graphics quality,” but adds that the compromise takes things to a level it’s “not willing to reach.” As such, its first task is to bring the graphics quality to an “acceptable level,” after which, “further optimizations are needed for both simulation and memory usage before we are ready to share the release.” of the console”.
As for what all this means for Cities: Skylines 2’s console release date, it remains delayed indefinitely. “Until [these issues] are resolved,” Colossal Order concluded, “we cannot provide a release estimate to avoid it being premature and potentially misleading. “The console launch remains a priority for us, we are exploring multiple solutions with the active participation of experts and we are working hard to bring you the console version of Cities: Skylines 2.”
Given the series of apologies Paradox has been forced to make after the release of Cities: Skylines 2 (it said “sorry” again in April after releasing much-criticized DLC), bringing the console version to an “acceptable state” “is undoubtedly the right decision. But since the company acknowledged that the PC release “had not met the benchmark we were looking for.” before release and still released it, console gamers should probably be careful.
The Colossal Order console update arrives ahead of the PC patch tomorrow, November 26, and promises “gameplay fixes, UI improvements, and more.” It’s also launching the next of its free, community-created regional packs today, this one focused on the UK.
Speaking to Eurogamer about Paradox’s problems earlier this year, which included delays for Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, as well as the cancellation of Life by You, Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester admitted: ” It’s clear that we have “I made bad decisions on several projects, especially outside of our core, and this needs to change.”
