Our own development team of Iceflake Studios Take over Cities: Skylines II!
An era is coming to an end, but in the best of terms: Paradox Interactive and the Finnish developer studio Colossal Order (CO) end after over 15 years a joint and successful partnership.
The separation, which consensual is carried out, (Read the original here) in the midst of the ongoing crisis Cities: Skylines II (CSII). While Colossal Order is dedicated to new projects, Paradox takes control of the important franchise.
Farewell and Gratitude: The voices of CEOs
Despite the business reorientation, only positive words and gratitude for the long, successful time were found in the public statements.
Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of Colossal Order, Looking back:
“For over fifteen years, the Cities series and our partnership with Paradox have been a defining part of our journey at Colossal Order... We would like to thank all Paradox employees for their trust and collaboration, and of course the community for the incredible support that has made Cities what it is today. We are confident that the Paradox-led series will continue to be successful."
Also Mattias Lilja, Deputy Director of Paradox Interactive, Underlines the importance of the relationship:
“Our partnership with Colossal Order is one of the longest relationships we have here at Paradox. Four games, dozens of expansions and a community of millions of Cities players – it is remarkable how much we have achieved together. We have great respect for the Colossal Order team and look forward to seeing what happens for them."
The road to separation: The CSII crisis
The decision to separate is the direct result of a turbulent time for Cities: Skylines II, That's been going on since its start in 27 October 2023 I've had a lot of trouble with the PC:
- Massive performance issues: The game suffered from low frame rate, inefficient CPU usage and technical flaws that overwhelmed even high-end systems.
- Console chaos: The console version, originally announced for October 2023, has been postponed several times and had to be rescheduled. July 2024 canceled indefinitely because the performance targets have not been met.
- The DLC (Beach Properties) scandal: In March 2024 The conflict escalated as the 10 Euro expensive DLC was released, although the main game was full of bugs. After devastating Steam reviews I apologise to Colossal Order., refunded the price to the buyers and subsequently made the extension free.
Restart: Iceflake Studios takes over the helm
Colossal Order will stop working on CSII after some final updates have been completed. The further development of the urban development simulation will from the beginning of 2026 of the Iceflake Studios An internal team of Paradox Interactive.
Lasse Liljedahl, studio Manager of Iceflake Studios, Take on the big task with respect:
“Leading an industry-leading franchise like Cities is a great honour and a great responsibility. There is a huge, loyal community, and I want to tell every member of this community that we share this heritage with all of you. Respect and humility will continue. We have over a decade of experience in the development of urban construction and management games. We see a strong foundation and so much potential waiting to be released and I can't wait to show you what we have planned for the next chapter of this incredible game.”
Iceflake is set to solve the technical issues, deliver new content, and complete the long-awaited console version (Xbox and PlayStation). The games community is now looking forward to 2026 and the first steps of the new development team.
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