PS5 and Xbox Series X are, apparently, not powerful enough for Cities Skylines 2’s console version

Paradox said they have no updates to share on Cities Skylines 2’s console release date, and hardware problems are the reason to blame

Paradox Interactive

Paradox said they have no updates to share on Cities Skylines 2’s console release date, and hardware problems are the reason to blame. Paradox Interactive made the comment in a recent Steam blog update on the port’s progress.

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“Currently, we are experiencing both simulation issues (CPU) and graphics issues (GPU) which become noticeable when players take certain actions that cause frame rate drops or memory overload," Paradox said in the update. "These issues are particularly challenging due to the hardware limitations of consoles.” “

“For instance, when placing larger buildings that involve numerous entities, the system struggles to handle the data load,” Paradox continued. “During the calculation process (e.g., checking if there’s enough space or if any entities overlap with existing assets), performance bottlenecks arise, resulting in these noticeable issues.”

Paradox ran into a similar set of issues even on PC, including one where the AI Cities Skylines 2 uses to generate NPCs decided to render individual teeth for every citizen. It sounds like this set of issues is rather less bizarre and perhaps the result of overambition. 

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The team went on to say that Cities Skylines 2 is in a playable state on consoles, but it comes at the cost of “significantly lowering” the graphics quality. Paradox called it a compromise it’s unwilling to make, so work continues to optimize Cities Skylines 2 for console. Once the visual fidelity reaches a point that satisfies Paradox said they’ll continue to optimize for memory usage and simulation efficiency before releasing the game for consoles.