After working together for fifteen years, Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order have decided to part ways, with Colossal Order moving on to pursue its own projects and leaving the Cities Skylines franchise behind. Moving forward, Finland-based Iceflake Studios under Paradox Interactive will take the lead on the series.
The news was announced with a lengthy post on the Paradox Interactive forums, and claims that the decision to split "was made thoughtfully and in the interest of both teams - ensuring the strongest possible future for the Cities: Skylines franchise."
"Development of the Cities: Skylines franchise will move to a different studio under Paradox Interactive's leadership and Colossal Order looks forward to building on its experience across new projects and exploring new creative opportunities. Both companies are excited for what the future holds while remaining deeply appreciative of our shared history and grateful to the Cities' community."
When Cities Skylines 2 launched in 2023, it did so in a less-than-ideal state, with a glaring lack of content and a slew of performance issues hampering any excitement for fans around the game. Colossal Order immediately began working on fixing the game's issues and put out a roadmap for the fixes to come, though even after two years on store shelves, it still sits at a 'Mixed' rating on Steam for both recent and overall player reviews.
It is definitely the end of an era for Colossal Order to be moving on entirely from the franchise. Though after what can be generously described as an abysmal launch for Cities Skylines 2, it seems that both Paradox and Colossal Order were ready to let another team take a crack at the series.
"Our partnership with Colossal Order is one of the longest-running relationships we've enjoyed here at Paradox. Four games, dozens of expansions, and a community of millions of Cities players; it's remarkable how much we've achieved together," said Mattias Lilja, deputy chief executive officer at Paradox Interactive.
"We have deep respect for the Colossal Order team and we look forward to seeing where they go from here. On our end, we’re eager to continue working for the passionate Cities: Skylines community and make sure to provide them with more content and new experiences."
The transition isn't happening immediately; Colossal Order is still working on the game for the balance of 2025, with a few more updates to implement. In 2026, Iceflake Studios will take over properly, with Colossal Order working alongside them to ensure a smooth transition. Iceflake will also be responsible for completing the console version of the game. There's still no update on when that'll be ready, nor does Paradox say it will be delayed further due to this change in developers.
"Taking the reins on a genre-leading franchise like Cities is an immense honor and a great responsibility," said Lasse Liljedahl, studio manager at Iceflake Studios. "There's a huge, loyal community out there and I want to say to every member of that community that we will humbly carry this legacy with respect, together with all of you. Iceflake has the capacity and capability to get started. We have a decade worth of experience from making city building and management games. We see a strong foundation and so much potential waiting to be unleashed and I can't wait to show you what we have planned for the next chapter of this incredible game."
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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