Cities: Skylines to switch developer

Paradox Interactive and Cities: Skylines developer Colossal Order have “mutually decided to pursue independent paths,” with development of the city-builder series switching to Iceflake Studios.

An update posted on the Cities: Skylines II forum said that “the decision was made thoughtfully and in the interest of both teams – ensuring the strongest possible future for the Cities: Skylines franchise.”

Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of Colossal Order, said: “For over fifteen years, the Cities Series and our partnership with Paradox have been a defining part of our journey at Colossal Order. When we set out to create Cities in Motion, we never imagined it would grow to become a cherished franchise with a passionate, loyal community of millions of players around the world.

“We want to thank everyone at Paradox for their trust and collaboration, and of course the community for the incredible support that has made Cities what it is today. We’re confident that the franchise will continue to thrive under Paradox’s leadership. As we move forward, we’re excited to channel our experience, creativity, and passion into new projects that align with our long-term vision.”

Mattias Lilja, Deputy CEO of Paradox Interactive, praised the achievements of the Finnish developer: “Our partnership with Colossal Order is one of the longest-running relationships we’ve enjoyed here at Paradox. Four games, dozens of expansions, and a community of millions of Cities players; it’s remarkable how much we’ve achieved together.

“We have deep respect for the Colossal Order team and we look forward to seeing where they go from here. On our end, we’re eager to continue working for the passionate Cities: Skylines community and make sure to provide them with more content and new experiences.”

The Cities franchise will now be developed by Iceflake Studios, an internal game studio owned by Paradox. Like Colossal Order, Iceflake Studios is based in Tampere in Finland.

Lasse Liljedahl, Studio Manager of Iceflake Studios, said: “Taking the reins on a genre-leading franchise like Cities is an immense honor and a great responsibility. There’s a huge, loyal community out there and I want to say to every member of that community that we will humbly carry this legacy with respect, together with all of you.

“Iceflake has the capacity and capability to get started. We have a decade worth of experience from making city building and management games. We see a strong foundation and so much potential waiting to be unleashed and I can’t wait to show you what we have planned for the next chapter of this incredible game.”

Colossal Order will be taking care of a few remaining updates to Cities: Skylines II before finishing with the franchise, including adding bikes and making bug fixes. But Iceflake Studios will take over all development from the start of 2026.

Colossal Order was founded in 2009 in Tampere, and its first release was Cities in Motion in 2011. But the studio found its biggest success with Cities: Skylines in 2015, which has sold more than 12 million copies across all platforms.

The game received a sequel, Cities: Skylines II, in 2023. The console versions of Cities: Skylines II were originally meant to launch alongside the PC release, but have been continuously delayed. According to the FAQ accompanying the new announcement, the console editions will now be developed by Iceflake Studios.

As Hallikainen related in a fireside chat with GamesIndustry.biz‘s Lewis Packwood at the DevGAMM Madeira Games Summit two weeks ago, Colossal Order struck an unusual bargain with Paradox at the outset. Rather than accepting funding in return for giving Paradox a share of the company, as is often the case with start-up firm investment, Colossal Order instead gave up the rights to its Cities IP to Paradox. But to this day, Colossal Order remains a fully independent company.

Essentially, this means Paradox has ultimate control over what happens to the Cities franchise, but Colossal Order remains independent and free to pursue its own goals.