Paradox shifts Cities: Skylines II development from Colossal Order to Iceflake Studios

Paradox Interactive has announced that Colossal Order, the studio behind Cities: Skylines and Cities: Skylines II, will step away from ongoing development of the sequel. Going forward, work on Cities: Skylines II — including future content updates and the long‑awaited console version — will be handled by Paradox’s in‑house team, Iceflake Studios. Paradox will retain the intellectual property.

Colossal Order will remain involved briefly to complete a few final updates before leaving the project. The move follows roughly two years of attempts to stabilize the citybuilder after a troubled launch, during which the PC‑only release arrived with higher minimum specs and significant bugs that delayed content and angered the community.

Key facts

• Studio change: Development responsibility moves from Colossal Order to Iceflake Studios (internal to Paradox).
• IP ownership: Paradox retains the Cities: Skylines intellectual property.
• Transition: Colossal Order will finish a few remaining updates; Iceflake takes over full development, including console work starting in 2026.
• Background: Cities: Skylines II launched with issues in 2023 that delayed new content and alienated parts of the player base.

Why Paradox made the change

According to reporting, Paradox moved to internalize development after extended efforts to salvage the sequel and manage community expectations. Centralizing development under Iceflake may let Paradox accelerate fixes, integrate quality‑control processes, and better align future content with the publisher’s roadmap.

What this means for players

• Short term: Players should still expect the remaining updates Colossal Order promised, but rollout timing may shift as teams hand off work.
• Console release: Paradox says Iceflake will handle the console port starting in 2026; no firm release date has been announced yet.
• Community trust: Changing studios can be risky — fans will watch closely to see whether the new team improves stability, performance and content cadence.

Risks and opportunities

Transferring an active project between studios carries technical and organizational challenges: codebases, tools and design decisions must be understood by the new team, and continuity can suffer. On the other hand, Iceflake may bring fresh resources and tighter oversight that speed fixes and the console effort.

For further reading, see the original coverage (opens in a new tab): Engadget report. You can also follow official updates from Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order on their websites and social channels.

Discussion: Do you think Iceflake can turn Cities: Skylines II around — and would a 2026 console launch win back frustrated players? Share your thoughts below.