Just last month, Cities: Skylines 2 was announced to the world by Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order, stating the iconic game would be released later this year. After having spent some time recently with Cities: Skylines (the original), I personally long for a multiplayer experience of some kind… but it’s unlikely to ever come, according to the game’s developers. Keep reading to find out more about why Cities: Skylines 2 likely won’t get multiplayer and also the return of an icon, for better or worse.
There are ways to make multiplayer good, but will Cities: Skylines 2 get it?
Cities: Skylines 2 will add a lot of functionality to the game for sure. But, one such feature that the community has longed for, and even modded into existence, is multiplayer.
Colossal Order shared some information about the upcoming game on Twitter, and one such picture included the question about multiplayer. The answer that the developer gave for whether multiplayer would come or not is this, “Cities Skylines II is our most ambitious project to date, expanding on every mechanic in the franchise. Adding multiplayer support takes an incredible amount of time and resources that would take away from building the core player experience we are trying to create.” Colossal went on to say in a follow-up tweet that, “Any feature where you would interact with other players in some way would be considered multiplayer.” Basically, Colossal Order stopped short of saying we wouldn’t have multiplayer at launch, but it’s all to be expected that this functionality won’t be available at launch, and might never come.
Cities: Skylines 2 is also going to see the return of an icon with Chirper making a comeback. Chirper is iconic in the Cities: Skylines franchise, for better or worse, and will be included in the sequel of the game, whether players like it or not. “There will be a Chirper for, for sure,” said Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen when speaking to PC Gamer.
That’s about it for what we know about Cities: Skylines 2 as of right now, but we’re hopeful to get more information as the launch nears so we can learn more about what to expect from the incoming sequel.
9to5Toys’ Take
Now, some might see this as multiplayer would never come… but I hold out a little hope. Colossal Order does say that the development of multiplayer would take away from building the core experience that the company is striving for. But, what’s to say that after release they wouldn’t work on it?
If multiplayer wasn’t coming at all, then why didn’t Colossal Order just say so. I get why, it’s never a good idea to just outright deny something if there’s a remote possibility. But, the fact that Colossal Order didn’t outright deny multiplayer means that, at least in theory, the function is still somewhat on the table. And then the definition that Colossal Order gave for multiplayer means that, in their eyes, there is a wide berth for what multiplayer could consist of. It doesn’t necessarily need to be co-op, but you could visit a friend’s city, maybe compete with them, or play alongside, depending on what functionality Colossal Order would eventually want to build in. I’m dreaming, I know, but it’s fun to dream sometimes, okay?
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