Cities Skylines 2 is a city builder, but you can make "more rural spaces" if you'd prefer

Cities Skylines 2 will let players build whatever size city they want, even if it's more of a village. 

In the latest edition of PC Gamer Magazine, Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of developer Colossal Order, explained that not every creation requires players to think big. Despite the fact that Cities: Skylines 2 maps are now "bigger than some countries", players don't actually need to build the next giant metropolis. Instead, they can choose to focus on developing "more rural spaces" like a small village or a town. 

"When you are building the city, you don't necessarily have to think about a huge city," Hallikainen says, "you can actually have these more rural spaces. It's completely up to you how you want to go about building the city and what the story for the city is." This freedom could encourage players to create quaint little villages that are much easier to manage compared to big, bustling cities. 

Cities Skylines 2's release date is just over a week away, but its publisher has braced future players for a potentially rocky launch. Earlier today, October 16, Paradox Interactive released a statement warning that "we have not achieved the benchmark we targeted." Instead of delaying the game, Paradox has decided to stick to its original release date, saying this is "the best way forward" for the "long-term of the project."

Last month, city builder fans voiced their concerns about Cities: Skylines 2's performance after its console release was delayed and its PC system requirements were increased. Now, Cities Skylines 2 is set to launch on PC (via Steam & Xbox Game Pass) on October 24, 2023, and will arrive on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S sometime in spring 2024. 

Need something to keep you busy until the release of Cities Skylines 2? Take a look at our best city-building games list.