Key Highlights:
- An Xbox promotional article incorrectly advertised 172 km² of buildable land in Cities: Skylines II, before Colossal Order corrected the figure to 159 km².
- The sequel supports 441 unlockable map tiles, allowing cities to expand across separate areas rather than requiring one continuous settlement.
- The corrected area is nearly five times larger than the original game’s standard nine-tile limit, but smaller than its modded 81-tile map.
Colossal Order has confirmed that Cities: Skylines II will offer 159 square kilometres of buildable land, correcting an Xbox promotional article that originally advertised 172 km². The developer attributed the discrepancy to a typo, rather than a reduction in the game’s planned map size.
The Xbox Wire interview with Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen has since been corrected to show 159 km². That is 13 km² less than initially advertised, a difference of approximately 7.6%.
However, the corrected figure describes the area players can unlock for city construction, not necessarily the entire surrounding landscape.
The confusion becomes clearer when comparing the sequel with the original Cities: Skylines.
In the first game, players can normally purchase nine tiles covering approximately 33.18 km². The broader 25-tile playable area measures 92.16 km², while PC mods allowing all 81 tiles to be unlocked can extend the available map area to approximately 299 km².
Cities: Skylines II takes a different approach. Its individual tiles are smaller, but the game offers 441 unlockable tiles. Players can also develop disconnected areas, making it possible to establish separate settlements rather than expanding exclusively from an existing city.
I think the most important part of this comparison is the difference between standard gameplay and modded maps. The sequel offers considerably more construction space than the original game without modifications, but players accustomed to building across all 81 tiles understandably expected something closer to that much larger area.
The community’s concerns therefore extend beyond the promotional mistake itself. Although 159 km² provides considerably more room than the first game’s standard nine-tile limit, the correction raises questions about how much freedom experienced city builders will have when creating enormous metropolitan regions.
The important point is that Colossal Order has corrected an inaccurate promotional figure. There is no indication that the developer actually reduced the planned playable area.
Later Update: Colossal Order subsequently confirmed in its Maps & Themes development diary that Cities: Skylines II offers 159 km² across 441 unlockable tiles, approximately five times the original game’s standard buildable area. The developer also explained that new cities begin with nine tiles, with expansion permits earned through progression and the freedom to purchase disconnected plots.
Players subsequently gained additional ways to customise their cities beyond the original map-size limits. Official modding support and the Beach Properties asset pack arrived in March 2024, while July’s Detailer’s Patch introduced zoneable roundabouts, additional service buildings and new surface tools, expanding the options available for developing individual districts.
