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5 Shocking Cities: Skylines 2 Forum Updates You Missed (Iceflake, Modding, & 150K City Performance)

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The official *Cities: Skylines II* (CSII) forums have undergone a seismic shift in late 2025, culminating in some of the most critical updates since the game's launch. As of today, December 22, 2025, the community chatter is dominated by two massive, interconnected topics: a surprise change in the game's lead developer and the long-awaited arrival of official modding tools that are already reshaping the city-building landscape.

The Paradox Interactive forums are now the essential hub for understanding the game’s future, as the new development team is actively communicating their plans. From the persistent performance woes that plague cities over 150,000 citizens to the excitement over new asset creation, here are the five most vital and current forum updates you need to know to stay ahead in your city-planning career.

The New Era: Iceflake Studios Takes the Helm from Colossal Order

The single most impactful piece of news dominating the *Cities: Skylines II* community is the major developer handover. This strategic move, announced in an official Paradox forum post, signals a new direction for the entire franchise.

  • The Change: Development for the *Cities: Skylines* franchise, including all existing and future CSII updates, has officially moved from Colossal Order to Iceflake Studios.
  • The New Team: Iceflake Studios is an internal Paradox Interactive game studio, also based in Tampere, Finland, like the original developer. They are known for developing the post-apocalyptic survival strategy game, *Surviving The Aftermath*.
  • Colossal Order's Role: Colossal Order will now explore "new creative avenues," marking the end of their decade-long, successful collaboration on the *Cities: Skylines* IP.

What Iceflake’s Dev Diary #1 Means for Players

The immediate impact of the handover was detailed in Dev Diary #1 - Future of Cities: Skylines II, Introducing Iceflake, posted on the Paradox Forums. This diary serves as a crucial blueprint for the game's future development. Iceflake Studios confirmed they are dedicated to continuous free updates and addressing the core issues that have frustrated the community since launch.

The community is now closely monitoring Iceflake's communication style and their ability to tackle the game's technical debt, specifically the infamous performance issues and simulation depth that were a constant source of debate in the general discussions forum.

The Modding Revolution: Asset Mods Finally Arrive

The second major topic is the long-awaited arrival of official modding support, which has begun to transform the game's potential. The release of Patch v1.5.2f1 was a watershed moment for the community.

Patch v1.5.2f1, released on December 4, 2025, introduced the first iteration of full asset mod support in beta. This update is a huge step toward building the massive content library that defined the original *Cities: Skylines*.

  • Asset Mods: Players can now use the new Editor to create and share custom assets, including maps, buildings, and various prefabs. This is the foundation for a thriving custom content ecosystem.
  • Code Mods Status: While asset support is live, the implementation for Code Mods (mods that alter game mechanics) remains in beta and is still being actively refined. The community is reporting some minor UI issues with existing code mods following the 1.5.2f1 patch, which Iceflake is currently investigating.
  • Creator Packs: The patch also included a compatibility update for the existing Creator Packs, ensuring all official content works seamlessly with the new modding features.

This modding push is a direct response to years of player feedback, and it is seen by many on the forums as the single biggest factor that will determine the longevity of *Cities: Skylines II*. The ability to create custom content is rapidly increasing the game’s replayability and visual diversity.

The Performance Debate: Is CSII Good Now in 2025?

Despite the positive news about Iceflake and modding, the most persistent and impassioned discussions on the Steam and Reddit forums still revolve around game performance.

The question, "Is *Cities: Skylines II* Good Now?" is a recurring thread, and the answer remains complex and highly dependent on city size and hardware.

Three Critical Performance Hotspots

The community has narrowed down the major performance roadblocks into three distinct areas that Iceflake Studios must address:

  1. The 150K Citizen Wall: The most cited issue is the dramatic performance drop when a city crosses the 150,000 citizen threshold. Forum users report that the game becomes "nearly single frame switching" at this scale, regardless of having a high-end CPU or GPU.
  2. Graphics-to-Performance Tradeoff: Many players still argue that the visual fidelity does not justify the poor performance, noting that the graphics-to-performance tradeoff remains unfavorable even after numerous optimization patches.
  3. Long Saving Times: A secondary, yet highly frustrating issue is the excessively long saving times, which can take several minutes for larger cities, interrupting the flow of gameplay.

The community is hopeful that Iceflake’s fresh set of eyes and their focus on core development will finally yield the deep-level optimization required to make large-scale city building a smooth experience. Until then, the performance thread remains the most active and critical area of the *Cities: Skylines II* forums.

Future Content and Community Wishlist

Beyond the technical fixes, the forums are a constant source of discussion about future content, features, and quality-of-life improvements. The community is now directing its wishlist toward Iceflake Studios, hoping for a revised roadmap.

  • Traffic and AI Fixes: One of the long-standing complaints, highlighted even after the "Bridges and Ports" update, is the questionable Traffic AI and pedestrian pathfinding. Players are asking for smarter routing and better lane utilization.
  • Missing Features from CS1: Many players are still waiting for the re-implementation of features that were staples in the original game, such as more in-depth public transport management, more robust mixed-use zoning controls, and better tools for managing services and utilities.
  • New Region Packs: The forums are always abuzz with speculation about the next regional content, following the release of packs like the Netherlands Region Pack. Players are eager to see new architectural styles and unique service buildings.

To fully participate in the future of *Cities: Skylines II*, keep a close watch on the Paradox Interactive Forums. The transition to Iceflake Studios and the release of the Asset Mods patch are not just updates—they are foundational changes that signal a hopeful, albeit challenging, new chapter for the city-builder.

5 Shocking Cities: Skylines 2 Forum Updates You Missed (Iceflake, Modding, & 150K City Performance)
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