Cities: Skylines 2 Gets New Developer After Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive Part Ways
In a surprising shakeup for the city-building genre, publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Colossal Order have announced their mutual decision to part ways after 15 years working together, leaving Cities: Skylines 2 with a new developer.
Effective early 2026, the development and future of Cities: Skylines 2 will be fully handed over by Colossal Order to Iceflake Studios, a Paradox-owned team known for its post-apocalyptic city builder, Surviving the Aftermath.
The decision to end their partnership follows years of community dissatisfaction regarding the sequel’s optimization, bugs, indefinite console delay, and lack of content updates.
The Cities: Skylines 2 Controversy and Colossal Order’s Departure
The partnership was one of Paradox’s longest-running, spanning four games and dozens of expansions, and a community of millions of players and modders, beginning in 2011 with Cities in Motion.
Unfortunately, Cities: Skylines 2 failed to live up to the original’s legacy, launching in a rough state with performance issues, frame rate drops, crashes, and endless bugs that forced Colossal Order to indefinitely delay the promised console version.
In a shared statement, Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen thanked Paradox for its support over the years and said the studio is now looking forward to working on “new projects that align with our long-term vision.”
Iceflake Studios Takes the Helm
Iceflake Studios is one of Paradox Interactive’s internal management game studios, indicating that Cities: Skylines 2 development is now fully under the publisher’s control moving forward.
Studio manager Lasse Liljedahl called it an “immense honor and a great responsibility” to take over the genre-leading franchise and promised the community to “humbly carry this legacy with respect.”
Iceflake’s immediate priority is to release free updates for the current version, while continuing to work on the game’s Editor and long-promised PS5 and Xbox Series X|S editions.
Smooth Transition: What’s Next for Iceflake and Cities: Skylines 2
Colossal Order will pass the reins after releasing a few additional updates, including the Bike Patch, which introduces bikes, Old Town buildings, and general bug fixes, and a Beta version for Asset Mods.
Both studios are working together to ensure a “smooth transition” as Iceflake looks to take control in early 2026 after sharing its plans for the near future with the community in the coming weeks.
Will Iceflake Studios Turn Cities: Skylines 2 Around?
Colossal Order’s departure from Paradox Interactive and the Cities: Skylines franchise leaves fans skeptical about the future of Cities: Skylines 2. Incoming Iceflake Studios has a proven track record of creating successful games in the city-building genre, and the community will be eager to see its plans to see how the developer will turn around the troubled sequel.
Fueled by a passion for gaming and the ever-evolving world of gaming news, Daniel loves connecting with seasoned and new players to bring games to life on the page, exploring their narratives and gaming trends. A self-published fiction and fantasy author, Daniel has nearly 20 years of experience writing gaming news and a love for storytelling that drives his enthusiasm to deliver breaking news, in-depth analysis, and industry innovations. You will find him in-game as "Windfell."
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