Cities: Skylines 2's first DLC went down so badly it's free now, and the city builder devs have delayed the next expansion to focus on fixing everything else
Apr. 18, 2024Everyone who bought the DLC will soon be offered compensation
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Cities: Skylines 2isstillhaving a very rough time, to the point where every player who bought the recent Beach Properties DLC will soon be offered compensation, and its devs are delaying the Bridges and Ports Expansion as well as the console release of the base game.
Sadly for fans of the city builder, complaints surrounding Cities: Skylines 2 are hardly new, as when it launched on PC last year, it washeavilycriticized for its performance issues. Unfortunately, six months on, the team behind it has now issued an apology regarding its recent Beach Properties Asset Pack, which launched last month, tempting players to experiment with waterfront buildings such as beachfront cottages. However, with an ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ rating on Steam, it’s clear to see that it didn’t go down well, with many players expressing frustration about the lack of content included.
In a newforum post, the CEO of developer Colossal Order, Mariina Hallikainen, and the deputy CEO of publisherParadox Interactive, Mattias Lilja, say the team “rushed out a DLC” in an attempt to make up for the disappointment surrounding the base game. It says: “We asked for your patience and support, and you’ve shown those. In return, we let you down.
“We thought we could make up for the shortcomings of the game in a timeframe that was unrealistic, and rushed out a DLC that should not have been published in its current form,” it states. “For all this, we are truly sorry. When we’ve made statements like this one before, it’s included a pledge to keep making improvements, and while we are working on these updates, they haven’t happened at a speed or magnitude that is acceptable, and it pains us that we’ve now lost the trust of many of you. We want to do better.”
Continuing, the team explains that along with changing the Beach Properties DLC’s pricing to be free (although it’s still $9.99 at the time of writing, and it’s not clear when exactly this is planned to change), those who bought it will be refunded “to the extent possible.” However, those who bought the Ultimate Edition of Cities: Skylines 2, which includes the Beach Properties DLC as part of its $89.99 price tag, won’t be eligible for this, since the option of being able to buy it either physically or digitally creates “significant complexities for executing a partial refund.” Instead, Ultimate Edition owners will be given three Radio Stations and three Creator Packs worth $39.99, which could be considered a huge win or enormous flop depending on how keen you are about continuing with the game.
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Whether the console version hits this October goal remains to be seen, as the devs admit they can’t confirm its release date yet. Despite it all, the team is still determined to make Cities: Skylines 2 the “best city builder it can be,” and players have been asked to watch this space for details on how to get their DLC refunds.
Be sure to check out our roundup of the top15 best city building games you can play today.
I’m one of GamesRadar+’s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you’re sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.
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