We Love It's Guide to…
As mayor, build a city from open land by planning roads, services, districts, and budgets while responding to its changing needs.
Released 10 Mar 2015
Design Roads And Transit
Manage Water And Power
Balance City Services
Cities: Skylines is a modern take on the classic city simulation. The game introduces new game play elements to realize the thrill and hardships of creating and maintaining a real city whilst expanding on some well-established tropes of the city building experience.
Developed by Colossal Order · Published by Paradox Interactive









You take the role of a mayor starting with a piece of land and a limited budget. Plan and expand a city where residents live and work, and where your decisions shape how it develops.
Lay roads and zones, provide water and electricity, and fund services such as education, healthcare, police, and fire protection. Manage the city’s economy and traffic, including how residents travel between homes, jobs, and services.
As the city grows, milestones unlock more options. You can designate districts and apply policies, while the day-night cycle changes residents’ schedules and the efficiency of some zones. Modding support lets players create, share, and download maps and structures.
Players often praise the satisfaction of planning a city and watching it grow, along with the creative freedom to shape neighborhoods and solve problems such as traffic and service shortages. Several describe its interconnected systems as absorbing and replayable. Some reviews also point to a learning curve, traffic management that can become demanding, and concerns about paid add-ons and updates affecting mods.

| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 135 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller required | No |
| DLC / extras | 76 listed on Steam |
| DRM / EULA |
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| Content notices |
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| Metacritic | 85/100 View on Metacritic |