Key Highlights:
- Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen has warned that increasing hostility within the Cities: Skylines II community could lead to reduced developer engagement.
- The studio distinguishes legitimate criticism of the game’s technical problems from personal attacks directed at developers and other players.
- Modding remains a development priority, with the Editor approaching closed beta testing and another bug-fixing patch planned.
Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen has warned that growing hostility within the Cities: Skylines II community could force developers to reduce direct communication with players. In a January 15, 2024 statement, she expressed concern that abusive behaviour towards developers and fellow community members was making people reluctant to participate in discussions about the game.
Writing in the official Word of the Week #8 developer update, Hallikainen explained that the studio had not previously encountered this level of hostility within its community. She warned that continued personal attacks could discourage creativity and modding, two activities that helped establish the original Cities: Skylines.
The concerns follow a difficult launch for the sequel in October 2023. PC players reported performance problems, simulation bugs and missing features, including the absence of official modding tools. Colossal Order had already outlined plans to introduce mod support through Paradox Mods, but those tools remained unavailable to the wider community.
Hallikainen acknowledged the importance of maintaining direct communication while emphasising the responsibility to protect employees from abuse. The studio has traditionally encouraged developers to participate in community discussions, but she questioned whether stronger moderation or reduced engagement might become necessary.
Importantly, Colossal Order was not asking players to stop criticising the game.
In a subsequent forum response, Hallikainen clarified that criticism and toxicity were different issues. Players were encouraged to explain problems, identify desired improvements and disagree constructively, while threats and personal attacks were considered unacceptable.
I can understand why players are frustrated by the performance problems and missing features, particularly after paying full price for the sequel. But criticism of the product and harassment of the people developing it are two very different things, and Colossal Order is right to address the latter.
Alongside the community warning, Hallikainen provided an update on development priorities.
The Editor remained the studio’s highest priority, with its interface expected to be ready for closed beta testing within a few weeks. However, difficulties importing custom assets were still unresolved.
Colossal Order was considering releasing the Editor with map creation and code modding capabilities first if the asset-import problem could not be resolved quickly. This followed the earlier invitation for community creators to test the unfinished Editor.
The developer also confirmed that work on console stability and performance was continuing alongside Editor development. A separate patch addressing simulation and visual bugs was planned before the Editor release, with full patch notes to follow when the update became available.
Hallikainen has invited players to suggest ways to improve community discussions and moderation. Colossal Order has not announced any reduction in developer communication, although continued harassment could force the studio to reconsider how directly its employees engage with players.
