The official Cities: Skylines II gameplay trailer, all in-game footage, confirmed the 24 October 2023 launch. I went through it frame by frame: polished multi-level interchanges, a road tool showing angles, slopes and lengths, parallel roads, six residential densities with European and American styles, pink office zones, building upgrades, households per building, air pollution with wind direction, seasons and a huge playable area. My first worry stayed the same: will population numbers be realistic?
The official Cities: Skylines II gameplay trailer had been out for about an hour when I recorded this. The most important news first: all footage is in-game, and the launch date is 24 October 2023. I played it through once, then went back and stopped wherever something caught my eye.
Interchanges and roads
The opening shot is a three- or four-level highway interchange, beautifully detailed. The lane markings look like something you’d only get with several mods in CS1. Even the asphalt is darker where the wheels run. I wasn’t a fan of a crosswalk right before an off-ramp: you wouldn’t find that where I live.
The road tool shows the angle (130°), the slope (−3.1%), the length of each side, a 180° helper and the cost. It’s basically Precision Engineering built in. There are straight, curved and S-curve tools, elevation steps and snapping, one-way roads with two and three lanes, and parallel roads at set distances. A pillar placed next to a train line looked fine, but one might sit on the tracks. I spotted what looked like a glass sound barrier and several bridge styles.
Mini roundabouts show up again and again. They could really help sort traffic on collector roads. I’m curious whether there’s a dedicated lane management tool. The grid tool is nice for beginners, but I’ll rarely use it, except for a dense downtown feel.
Zoning and buildings
- Six residential types, with a choice between European and North American styles. I’d heard rumours of an Asian theme later.
- Pink zones are offices, low-rise and high-rise. Confirmed.
- Upgrades: the university panel lists available extensions, staff, 69 of 2,500 students, graduation time and dropout rate. That reminds me of the old SimCity games. Power plants have upgrades too, so you’ll need to plan space ahead.
- Households: one building showed 15 of 15 households and 25 residents (10 adults, 15 seniors). For three or four storeys that’s not unreasonable, but realistic population is still my biggest question.
Simulation
Air pollution is split into building and traffic sources, with wind speed and direction. You’ll need to put industry where the wind doesn’t blow into downtown. Traffic info separates flow from volume, which makes sense, because flow can be bad even at low volume. Industry includes farming with animals, crops, vegetables and cotton. Trams, freight and passenger trains all appear, and a parking lot is built in.
The look
Young trees, old trees, trees hit by pollution, an architectural planning view that’s less cartoony, seasons, night scenes and one final aerial shot that shows how enormous a city can get. Pre-orders opened on Steam at €49.99 in Europe.
I’m thrilled. For what I’d spotted a few days earlier, see the leaked screenshots.
FAQ
When was Cities: Skylines II released?
The trailer confirmed 24 October 2023. Pre-orders opened that day on Steam and Paradox; the base game was €49.99 in Europe.
What do the pink zones in Cities: Skylines II mean?
Offices, in low-rise and high-rise variants. The trailer confirmed it after leaked screenshots had shown the new colour.
Does Cities: Skylines II have air pollution?
Yes. The trailer showed separate air pollution from buildings and traffic, with wind speed and direction, so placing industry downwind of downtown matters.