Choose Cities: Skylines
Choose Cities: Skylines if it's currently about 44% cheaper on the Steam Store. 99,307 Steam reviews back the pick.
Cities: Skylines vs Smart City Plan
Cities: Skylines and Smart City Plan both land in Strategy, Simulation on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam. Cities: Skylines (2015) is 5 years older than Smart City Plan (2020). Cities: Skylines scores higher on Steam reviews (92.8% positive) than Smart City Plan (65.3% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Smart City Plan
Choose Smart City Plan if it's the newer release (2020) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Smart City Plan launched in 2020.
Both Cities: Skylines and Smart City Plan sit in Strategy and Simulation on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Cities: Skylines |  Smart City Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2015 | 2020 |
| Genres | Strategy, Simulation | Strategy, Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Unrated |
| Price | 8.99 USD | 15.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 92.8% positive (99,307 reviews) | 65.3% positive (72 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Colossal Order | Ambiera |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Simulation on Steam.
- Cities: Skylines (2015) is 5 years older than Smart City Plan (2020).
- Cities: Skylines scores higher on Steam reviews (92.8% positive) than Smart City Plan (65.3% positive).
- Cities: Skylines is currently ~44% cheaper on Steam than Smart City Plan (8.99 USD vs. 15.99 USD).
- Cities: Skylines is Deck Playable on Steam Deck; Smart City Plan has no Deck rating yet.
Cities: Skylines vs Smart City Plan — FAQ
- Should I play Cities: Skylines or Smart City Plan first?
- If you want chronology, Cities: Skylines (2015) came out before Smart City Plan (2020). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Cities: Skylines and Smart City Plan similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Simulation on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Does Cities: Skylines run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — Cities: Skylines is rated Deck Playable by Valve. Smart City Plan doesn't have a Deck rating yet, so its Deck behaviour is currently unverified.