Cities: Skylines 2's official mod support won't arrive until after release
Due alongside official Editor "post-launch".
Paradox has confirmed Cities: Skylines 2 won't be getting official mod support until sometime after next week's release, with the feature set to arrive alongside its first wave of modding tools.
Official mod support was one of the original Cities: Skylines' most exciting features when it launched back in 2015, and the city builder quickly developed a vibrant modding scene that played a significant role in its early success. More than 333,000 mods are now available for the first Cities: Skylines via Steam Workshop, and Paradox has even tapped modders to create official DLC for the game over the years.
As for Cities: Skylines' imminent sequel, Paradox broke the news that mods would not be officially supported at launch in a developer diary shared on its website. And while it hasn't yet offered an estimated time of arrival for the feature, it's now published a second mod-focused developer update explaining official mod tools and mod support will arrive simulataneously post-release, once Cities: Skylines 2's all-in-one Editor leaves beta testing.
Initially, the Editor will provide modders with the tools to create custom maps and buildings, and to undertake code modding. Paradox says it then intends to expand the Editor to include more asset types, so modders can make their own vehicles, trees, and bushes, and import custom citizen models.
As revealed earlier this week, Cities: Skylines 2 will be ditching Steam Workshop in favour of Paradox's own Paradox Mods platform, which will eventually be available across console and PC. The publisher's latest update explains sharing to the platform will be enabled alongside the Editor's arrival, meaning players can upload and download custom maps, buildings, and code mods, as well as share savegames and download other people's cities to explore.
Today's news follows Paradox's recent admission that Cities: Skylines 2 has "not achieved the [performance] benchmark we targeted." Despite expected performance issues, however, Paradox said, "We still think for the long-term of the project, releasing now is the best way forward. We are proud of the unique gameplay and features in Cities: Skylines 2, and we genuinely believe that it offers a great experience that you will enjoy."
Cities: Skylines 2 will be available on PC next Tuesday, 24th October, via Steam, Epic, the Microsoft Store, and PC Game Pass. It's now expected to launch for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 in "spring 2024", after Paradox announced a delay, saying it needed "more time to reach the quality targets we've set for console".