Cities: Skylines 2 (C:S2) had a pretty rocky launch, plagued by performance issues and missing features. However, Colossal Order, the developer behind C:S2, has gone into overdrive to fix the issues. One of the bigger issues that is being targeted is modding support.
In a recent video called Cities: Skylines 2’s Winter Recap, (Thanks Arstechnica) CEO Mariina Hallikainen acknowledged the challenges faced during development. There were multiple setbacks and technical difficulties, leading to a three-year delay. While she acknowledged performance concerns, she defended the decision to release, saying she wanted to respect the announced release date and avoid further disappointing fans.
This is a tough decision because most developers would rather delay than let players get their hands on games. The team went to try to fix bugs while modding was on their minds from day one.
“It really felt like [close to release] we’re not getting the progress that we need. So for us, it was just time to kind of let go and see how this goes… It is something that of course, in hindsight, there’s a lot of questioning debates, with the feedback. But even now, I do feel that this was the right call. The game just had to be shipped.”
Mariina Hallikainen
Hallikainen said she believed in constant improvement, alluding that the game would still get a lot of updates even without the issues. Even without the official mod support, many in the community have already begun creating mods despite the lack of official tools. As stated before, Colossal Order is not leaving the game as is, and the company plans on rolling out official modding support in the new year.
C:S2 arguably needs modding support. Simulation games and RPGs tend to have staying power thanks to modding communities. Mods normally inject a steady stream of fresh content and creativity, keeping the game alive and fostering a community that adds more mods. We hope to see support soon because that could give modders a chance to fix many of the bugs themselves.
