Cities: Skylines 2’s Asset Editor: A Continual Work in Progress
Over a year has passed since the debut of Cities: Skylines 2 on PC, yet the highly anticipated asset editor has yet to be released, and the game has not been rolled out for console players.
Back in November 2024, Colossal Order gave assurances that updates about the asset editor for Cities: Skylines 2 would be forthcoming once remaining issues were resolved. However, recent updates indicate that the anticipated asset editor remains a work in progress, as these technical challenges persist.
According to Colossal Order, “The implementation of the Asset Editor has proven more technically challenging than initially anticipated due to the hefty amounts of built-in assets affected by the changes, but it is moving forward.”
The studio is primarily focused on removing Unity dependencies, which they believe will allow for smoother, more responsive, and reliable loading of assets. This will help avoid lengthy game freezes and instability during play. Moreover, their aim is to support large collections of assets with minimal performance drawbacks.
“We are also making the importing and baking of assets more asynchronous to reduce identifier conflicts with serialization. Assets created on different machines can easily cause these, resulting in the game getting confused about what assets it is actually trying to load,” explained the development team.
While Colossal Order remains dedicated to overcoming these challenges, the prolonged wait for the asset editor has created frustration among fans. Feedback on platforms like Steam reveals impatience and dissatisfaction due to perceived communication issues from Colossal Order and concerns regarding the state of Cities: Skylines 2.
It’s important to acknowledge that Colossal Order has faced significant backlash from some players, but there is validity to some of the concerns. The game had a rocky start upon its release in October 2023, and subsequent issues—such as the botched launch of the “Beach Properties” DLC—have exacerbated community distress. An apology from Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive followed due to the mishandled DLC release.
Supporting this sentiment, Paradox’s deputy CEO mentioned in October 2024 that the game hit the market too soon. Though improvements have been made, the game continues to bear a “mixed” user rating, and player counts have not yet exceeded those of the decade-old original Cities: Skylines.
Colossal Order is not just facing challenges with the asset editor; they are also grappling with the console versions of the game. While steady progress is being made, the team explained, “we have more things we need to address before we reach the level of quality and the experience we want for you as our players.” Consequently, the console versions of Cities: Skylines 2 will not be released before summer, with no firm timeline set beyond that.
On a more positive note, Colossal Order points out an upcoming milestone: the 10th anniversary of the original Cities: Skylines. Slated for March 10, this occasion seems to promise a special engagement with players, though details remain under wraps, and it’s unlikely to involve the release of the asset editor.
While the wait continues, fans of Cities: Skylines 2 remain hopeful for a resolution to the current issues, with the anticipation that both PC and console experiences will eventually meet their expectations.
