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Cities: Skylines 2 discovers a fix for high rent: nuking landlords

Cities: Skylines 2 will no longer feature virtual landlords, as they rocketed up rent.
cities skylines 2

Cities: Skylines 2 is currently a work in progress, as developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive continue to tweak and balance the game’s economy for more streamlined, manageable sim gameplay. Since launch, players have encounter a range of quirks in the game’s systems, with one of these being issues with rent.

As noted in a recent blog post, complaints about high rent in player cities were previously very common, and there didn’t seem to be much players could do about it. Cities: Skylines 2 attempts to replicate the economy of the real world, and so it makes sense that the game would face the same challenges many are facing in this world.

The high rent issue was popping up so frequently that Colossal Order has now directly addressed it with a novel solution: removing landlords from the game entirely. Previously, landlords were able to charge high rent and exploit tenants based on certain economic conditions. Now, a building’s upkeep will simply be paid equally by all renters, with no one tenant paying more than the other.

Read: Cities: Skylines 2 developer refunds new DLC, apologises for quality

No landlords means affordable housing

Without the “human greed” aspect of landlords, rent will now be fairly distributed, creating more equitable living conditions for everyone within Cities: Skylines 2‘s virtual homes. As a result, players will be less likely to encounter “high rent” notifications, and the incomes of virtual renters should stabilise.

Renters will need to pay for building upkeep and other fees, with this investment improving the quality and condition of buildings, but any money paid will go directly towards the building, rather than a human recipient with disruptive economic power.

Some renters may still have trouble, but they will deal with high rents by automatically spending less money on resource consumption. When this isn’t enough, the high rent notification will pop up again – but in a way that’s more actionable. Virtual tenants will look for cheaper houses, or move from city locales.

The irony here is, of course, that Cities: Skylines 2 and its previous rent problems reflect the reality of modern living. Many are facing tough challenges with high rent, as landlords exploit tenants for profit, putting restrictions on their daily spending and the ways they can genuinely support the economy. Per Colossal Order, finding a solution to this issue is simple.

You can learn more about the new patch for Cities: Skylines 2 on the Paradox Forum.

Leah J. Williams is a gaming and entertainment journalist who's spent years writing about the games industry, her love for The Sims 2 on Nintendo DS and every piece of weird history she knows. You can find her tweeting @legenette most days.