Cities: Skylines II: After harsh criticism: Paradox speaks out and grants DLC refunds

Cities: Skylines II is heavily criticized in the fan community. Paradox has now issued a detailed statement, apologizing for the current state of the game and granting refunds for DLC buyers.

The launch of Cities: Skylines II was met with great expectations; after all, the first part of the city-building simulation had many fans. However, since its release in October 2023, the sequel has repeatedly faced criticism, even more so after the hasty release of the “Beach Properties” DLC package. There was great anticipation that Cities: Skylines II would also receive mod support in addition to the first asset pack.

Due to the ongoing criticism of the condition of the game and the DLC, Paradox Interactive has now spoken out in a statement. Together with developer Colossal Order, they apologize to the loyal community and admit that they were not able to meet expectations.

“We demanded your patience and support – and you showed both. In return, we dropped you. We thought we could fix the game's shortcomings in a time frame that was unrealistic, and we rushed a DLC “We are really sorry for all of this,” says the statement via social media, which you can read in its entirety above.

The DLC was previously particularly criticized because it was offered quite expensively, but did not offer the corresponding value in terms of content. For this reason, Paradox Interactive is now also offering refunds for DLC buyers. The money will automatically be refunded to the Steam Wallet via Steam. Anyone who has purchased from the Microsoft Store will receive further details about the procedure shortly. It also runs automatically for buyers via the Paradox Store. If you are a reseller, you must contact the relevant dealer.

“Beach Properties” has also been removed from sale on Steam. Paradox and Colossal Order vow to improve and want to continue working on Cities: Skylines II and additional content to meet fans' expectations in the future. The initial focus is on free updates to improve the general quality of the game. The release window for the Bridges and Ports expansion has been moved from the first to the second quarter of 2025.