Highlights

  • The CEO of Colossal Order addresses toxicity in Cities: Skylines 2's community, warning it could damage the game and discourage creativity.
  • The Colossal Order CEO offers potential solutions to combat negativity, including increased moderation and reduced interaction between developers and the community.
  • Lack of features like the Editor UI disappointed fans, but there is still an opportunity for Cities: Skylines 2 to win its community back through updates and expansions.

The CEO of Colossal Order, the studio behind Cities: Skylines 2, addressed the issue of toxicity within the game's community. She explained how Cities: Skylines 2 could be damaged by the negativity directed towards its developers and other community members.

Cities: Skylines 2 was released in October 2023 in a less-than-desirable state. Many fans felt that the sequel paled in comparison to the original Cities: Skylines for multiple reasons, with many citing Cities: Skylines 2's lack of an editor tool at launch as a significant disappointment. Colossal Order is hard at work on improving the game to match the glory of the original Cities: Skylines, but some members of its community grew frustrated by this wait, taking out their disappointment on developers and community members alike. In response to this, Colossal Order seems to be intent on repairing the state of its community.

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Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen released her newest Word of the Week, which updates fans on the studio's latest work. As part of this statement, she addressed the growing negativity spreading throughout the community of Cities: Skylines 2. She explained that this toxicity will only damage the game in the long run, as fans will become more hesitant to interact with others in the community. This will not only damage the overall mood among community members but will also discourage creativity and modding in Cities: Skylines 2, which are important parts of the game's community.

Snow falling around the city in Winter

Hallikainen further explained that toxicity could seriously damage the relationship between developers and the community, as some Colossal Order employees might become discouraged from taking part in community interaction. She offered a couple of potential solutions at the end of her statement, which involve increased moderation or a reduction in interaction between developers and community members.

Hallikainen also encouraged community members to give feedback on the game but emphasized that it should be done in a constructive manner with specific details. She also addressed the highly requested Editor UI tool, just one of the features omitted from Cities: Skylines 2 at launch, and gave an update on its development. The Editor UI should be ready for the game's closed beta in a couple of weeks. However, the studio is still hard at work ironing out some important details.

A lack of features like the Editor UI led many fans to consider Cities: Skylines 2 as one of the most disappointing games of 2023. However, seeing how other titles like Cyberpunk 2077 were able to rebuild their reputation through updates and expansions, the game certainly still has the opportunity to win its community back over.

cities skylines 2
Cities: Skylines 2

Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive's Cities: Skylines 2 builds on the foundations of its 2015 predecessor. Prioritizing realism, the city-building sim offers a deep economic system and an ever-changing world driven by player choice and creativity.

Platform(s)
PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
Released
October 24, 2023
Developer(s)
Colossal Order
Genre(s)
City Builder
Publisher(s)
Paradox Interactive