In June 2023 an Xbox store page accidentally showed the Cities: Skylines II achievement list. I went through it one by one. The big hints: an achievement for unlocking 150 map tiles in one city, a fourth zone type alongside residential, commercial and industrial, seasons, a 'six figures' population goal that looked low, and an achievement for following one citizen from childhood to old age. Some made me excited, a few made me nervous.
About a week and a half before this video, Xbox, thank you, Microsoft, accidentally published the achievement list for Cities: Skylines II. These are Xbox achievements, so the PC version may differ a little, but together they gave a very good impression of what the game would ask of us.
The ones that excited me
Everything the light touches: unlock 150 map tiles in a single city. Cities: Skylines 1 gives you 25 without mods and 81 with the 81 Tiles mod. 150 is almost twice that. My hope was that a single tile would stay at least as large as in CS1. The explorer (50 tiles in one city) points the same way. For how tiles actually work in the released game, see the CS2 map tiles guide.
50 active transport lines. Even in 81-tile cities I’ve never run 50 lines, counting buses, taxis, monorails, trains and subways together. That number also hints at how big these cities can get.
Four seasons, the Map Editor and asset creation. I’ll definitely use the Map Editor, and I usually make a few assets myself.
Zero emissions: electricity only from renewables. That’s how I build anyway: as soon as I can, I switch from coal and oil to solar and water.
The ones that made me curious
- Happy to be of service asks you to assign a city service to a district. Leaked screenshots showed a new pink zone colour, and I wondered if it was a service area. The trailer later showed it was offices.
- Strength through diversity: buildings from all four zone types. Residential, commercial, industrial and a fourth.
- Making a mark (5 signature buildings) and the 10-building version. Signature buildings are huge, and more than one or two can dominate a city.
The ones that made me nervous
Six figures: 100,000 citizens. That’s easy in Cities: Skylines 1, so why set it that low? It made me fear we’d need something like Realistic Population again to get believable numbers.
Little stalker follows a citizen from childhood to old age. I’m far less interested in one person’s life than in how the whole city grows. That’s just my preference.
The rest
Hailstorms, tornadoes and forest fires (I prefer building to destroying), an airport, five policies at once, ten districts with policies, an attractiveness rating of 90, a university-educated share of 20%, a 200,000 loan, ten parks, 100 trees painted by hand, 1,000 buildings bulldozed, 10,000 patients, 10,000 tourists and every unique service building in one city. Most of these happen naturally if you play long enough.
I’m more than excited. I’ll play it as soon as it’s out.
FAQ
Where did the Cities: Skylines II achievements come from?
An Xbox store listing published them by accident about a week before this video, in early June 2023. They were Xbox achievements, so the PC list could differ slightly.
Which achievement hinted at bigger maps?
'Everything the light touches' asked you to unlock 150 map tiles in a single city, and 'The explorer' 50 tiles. Cities: Skylines 1 allows 25 without mods, or 81 with the 81 Tiles mod.
What was the fourth zone type?
The achievement 'Strength through diversity' asked for buildings from all four zone types. Leaked screenshots showed a new pink zone colour, which the gameplay trailer later confirmed as offices.