Cities: Skylines 2 Could Have Performance Issues on PC at Launch, Developer Warns

Games launching with performance or technical issues has become quite a common thing now, unfortunately enough, but very rarely do we see a developer warning players ahead of a game’s release that it will have said issues.

Colossal Order has, however, issued a warning ahead of the imminent launch of its highly anticipated city builder Cities: Skylines 2 that the game may very well have performance issues on PC upon its release. In a message published on the official Paradox forums, the developer said that though it will continue to work on further optimizing the game after its release, upon launch, it is likely to have some performance issues, with the studio having been unable to hit the performance benchmark it was targeting internally.

“We’ve noticed the concerns raised about Cities: Skylines II performance, especially after our previous statement with raised minimum and recommended specs. As we’ve always believed in transparency, we’d like to further shed some light on the current state of the build,” the developer wrote. “Cities: Skylines II is a next-gen title, and naturally, it demands certain hardware requirements. With that said, while our team has worked tirelessly to deliver the best experience possible, we have not achieved the benchmark we targeted.

“In light of this, we still think for the long-term of the project, releasing now is the best way forward. We are proud of the unique gameplay and features in Cities: Skylines II, and we genuinely believe that it offers a great experience that you will enjoy.

“We will continually improve the game over the coming months, but we also want to manage expectations on performance for the coming release. Our ambition is for Cities: Skylines II to be enjoyed by as many players as possible, and we’re committed to ensuring it reaches its full potential.”

In a separate FAQ, the developer has also explained that not all players will see performance issues, and that the developer will also provide settings to help minimize any potential problems.

Cities: Skylines 2 is set to launch for PC on October 24. Its PS5 and Xbox Series X/S release was recently delayed to Spring 2024.