Paradox Interactive and Colossal Order have decided to end their longstanding development partnership, closing a collaboration that has shaped the Cities franchise for more than a decade. The companies said the decision was made jointly and with a focus on securing the strongest path forward for Cities: Skylines, according to an announcement on the official Paradox Forum.
Paradox will transfer development of the Cities: Skylines series to Iceflake Studios, its internal management-game studio based in Tampere, Finland. Iceflake will assume responsibility for all ongoing and future development of Cities: Skylines II, including free updates, console editions, continued work on the Editor, and upcoming expansions and content packs. The transition is scheduled to be completed at the start of 2026.
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Colossal Order, which created the Cities series and co-developed it with Paradox for over fifteen years, said the end of the partnership marks a natural point for both companies to pursue independent directions. The studio indicated that it will focus on new creative projects while delivering several final updates for Cities: Skylines II before departing. These include the Bike Patch—introducing bicycles, Old Town buildings, bug fixes and broader improvements—and a beta release of asset mod support for the Editor before the end of the year.
Paradox said the partnership produced a substantial catalogue across multiple titles and expansions, helping build a large global community of Cities players. The publisher added that it intends to maintain active support for the franchise as Iceflake takes over leadership.
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Iceflake Studios said it views the handover as a significant responsibility and aims to build on its experience in city-building and management games. The studio is preparing to introduce itself to the community and share development plans in the coming weeks.
Source: Paradox Forum