Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive seem to want to end the year on a conciliatory note. That’s why they released a video for Cities: Skylines 2 last week. In it, the team discusses the development process and explains their own thoughts leading up to the release.
Almost exactly two months ago, Cities: Skylines 2 started its chaotic release. Even though the basic gameplay seemed to please the community, the poor performance caused great frustration.
Now Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have commented on the development process. In a 20-minute video, various members of the development team have their say and explain their thoughts on the simulation game
The community is extremely grateful for this display of transparency, a hallmark of Colossal Order. Even in the video, the team members never tire of emphasizing how important the exchange and cooperation with the community is
The question therefore arises all the more as to why a beta was not scheduled for a game as extensive as Cities: Skylines 2. Such a phase would have given the development team the feedback they needed to invest some more time in the game
What went on behind the scenes of Cities: Skylines 2?
Thinking about the team’s words a little longer, the problems with Cities: Skylines 2 seem to lie primarily in the misjudgment of the development process.
Colossal Order had originally only planned two years for the development process. After the start of development in 2018, the game should have been released on the market in 2020 or 2021. This calculation was probably also used to approach the publisher Paradox and other investors.
However, the technical scope of the simulator and the associated rat’s tail of work quickly outgrew the team, meaning that the original schedule could not be adhered to.
As a result, unplanned funds flowed into Cities: Skylines 2, which must not have pleased Paradox and the other investors. In the end, an unfinished game was released two years behind the internal release schedule, probably to avoid having to claim further funds and generate revenue through the release
This is also supported by the fact that Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen admitsthat the hype surrounding Cities: Skylines 2 was fueled by appropriate marketing. Although it was already known at the time that Cities: Skylines 2 would fall short of expectations
