Cities: Skylines II lands on Steam, welcomed with mixed reviews

Described by Paradox Interactive as "the most realistic city builder" ever, Cities: Skylines II made its debut on Steam alongside Microsoft's Store and Game Pass yesterday. Two versions are available, namely the base game, simply called Cities: Skylines II, and the Ultimate Edition, which comes with a few extras (one already available, more to come later this year and in 2024).

The price of the base game is US$49.99 for US customers and 49.99 EUR for European Union countries. The Ultimate Edition is almost twice as expensive at US$89.99 or 89.99 EUR. In addition to the base game, this version of Cities: Skylines II includes the Expansion Pass with instant unlock for the San Francisco Set and the following to be added later:

• Assets Pack + Radio Station (Q4 2023)
• Content Creator Pack + Radio Station (Q1 2024)
• Expansion + Radio Station (Q2 2024)

Right now, the game has 8,518 reviews from customers who purchased the game on Steam for a "Mixed" result (48% positive ratings). The Steam product page shows an overall number of 11,336 reviews, with 5,537 positives and 5,799 negatives. The most frequent issue, often mentioned even by those who gave the game a positive rating, is the level of performance below expectations. For example, a user with a desktop PC powered by an Intel Core i9-13900K processor alongside Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics said that he barely got 35 fps in the main menu and in game on a new map without any buildings present, while playing on a 1440p monitor.

Unfortunately for console gamers, Cities: Skylines II faced delays and is now expected to arrive on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S in the second quarter of next year if everything goes as planned.

Buy Cities: Skylines (Nintendo Switch) on Amazon