Cities: Skylines 2 seems to be tackling the original city builder's biggest problem head-on

(Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

The biggest city-building game out there today is finally getting its long-awaited sequel, as publisher Paradox Interactive has lifted the veil on Cities: Skylines 2.

Cities: Skylines 2 is due to release in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Developer Colossal Order is emphasizing "a deep simulation and a living economy" for the sequel, according to the Steam store page, and promise that this will be the "most realistic city builder - ever."

While the original game is well-loved for its intuitive building controls and wide-ranging creation options, old-school city builder fanatics have long complained that it doesn't match the depth of simulation offered in older genre entries like SimCity 4. The devs seem to be tackling those complaints head-on for the sequel.

Sims series fans got thrown another bone as part of today's Paradox Announcement Show, too, with the reveal of Life by You, a life simulator that seems to be drawing direct parallels to the classic life simulation games by Maxis. Sims 2 and 3 veteran Rod Humble is leading development at Paradox Tectonic. More details on Life by You will be revealed at a separate showcase event on March 20.

Today's show also featured the reveal of The Lamplighters League, and new expansions for Surviving the Aftermath, Crusader Kings 3, and Europa Universalis 4. Paradox Arc, the publisher's indie initiative, also unveiled the sci-fi auto-battler Mechabellum, the turn-based RPG sequel Knights of Pen & Paper 3, and the Wolf Wars expansion for the deckbuilding RPG Across the Obelisk.

You can't build a list of the best city-building games without Cities: Skylines, but there are plenty more excellent entries in the genre.

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Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.