Cities: Skylines 2 developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive have apologised for the launch state of the game’s “Beach Properties” DLC, which was “rushed” to release and “should not have been published in its current form.” Everyone who purchased the DLC as standalone will be getting a refund shortly, with the DLC transitioning to become a free pack for all players.
This development is the latest in a string of unfortunate events for Cities: Skylines 2, which launched in such a poor state in late 2023 that Colossal Order and Paradox had to warn fans of performance issues and bugs in the week before release. At the time, the teams explained that Cities: Skylines 2 had not hit internal benchmarks, but there was no desire to delay the game.
As expected, players encountered a range of issues on launch, with many questioning why Colossal Order and Paradox went ahead with release – as the bugs were so numerous, they made the game near-unplayable.
“Cities: Skylines 2 should not be released. It pains me to say as a big fan of the original game, but the sequel here is simply not in an acceptable state,” one Steam user wrote at the time. “I cannot recommend Cities: Skylines 2. It’s almost unplayable in its current state and the fact that it is being released anyways is really just sad.”
Read: Cities: Skylines 2 debuts to mixed reviews, as players criticise game performance
In the months since launch, Colossal Order has worked diligently to issue updates for the game, improving its performance and reducing the number of bugs. Unfortunately, it appears the Beach Properties DLC has thrown another spanner into the works.
“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,” the official Cities: Skylines account posted on the Paradox Forum.
“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.”
As announced, everyone who purchased Beach Properties as a standalone DLC will be refunded. Additional content will be provided to those who purchased the Ultimate Edition – 3 Creator Packs and 3 Radio Stations – to compensate, as it’s reportedly too complex to provide partial game refunds across multiple storefronts.
“Looking ahead, we also want to make immediate and meaningful changes in the way we approach the game’s development and our communication with you,” the Cities: Skylines 2 team said. In future, there will be better communication from the game’s development team, as it continues to improve the base game, and work on new content.
