Paradox Interactive and Cities: Skylines developer Colossal Order have agreed that Iceflake Studios will now oversee game development.
Dear city builders: a major partnership has come to an end today. Paradox Interactive and Cities: Skylines developer Colossal Order officially announced that they have “mutually” parted ways. They noted that the game series will now be developed by the Finnish studio, also owned by Paradox Interactive, Iceflake Studios. The update came today in an official Cities: Skylines II forum post.
CEO of Colossal Order, Mariina Hallikainen 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.”
Based in Tampere, Finland, Iceflake Studios will be working hard on Cities: Skylines II. The post indicated that Iceflake will be taking over all existing and future development for Cities: Skylines II, including free updates for the current version, continuous work on the Editor and console editions, as well as future expansions and content packs. This means that Cities players will be able to look forward to new updates and content drops for many years.
Deputy CEO of Paradox Interactive, Mattias Lilja recognized Colossal Order’s work and accolades: “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.”
Despite this tragic announcement, Colossal Order will continue a few more updates before heading out—including the Bike Patch. This patch includes the long-awaited addition of bikes, Old Town buildings, bug fixes, and general improvements to the game. A Beta implementation of the asset support for the Editor, meaning access to Asset Mods, will also be available before year-end. Iceflake Studios will take the helm for all development from the start of 2026.
Studio Manager of Iceflake Studios, Lasse Liljedahl added how much of an honour they have been given to see the future of the franchise: “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.”
Cities: Skylines II originally came out on PC in 2023; the console versions were slated to be released at the same time. However, the console release has continuously been delayed. This is where Iceflake Studios will most likely pick up the work that Colossal Order was working on. For now, Colossal Order has severed ties to the Cities series and is independent to work on other future endeavours. Godspeed, and I am very curious what they will be cooking next!
