Choose Cities: Skylines
Choose Cities: Skylines if you want a Strategy experience. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 92.8% positive across 99,307 reviews.
Cities: Skylines vs Cities: Skylines II
Cities: Skylines and Cities: Skylines II both land in 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 are Simulation games on Steam. Cities: Skylines (2015) is 8 years older than Cities: Skylines II (2023). Cities: Skylines scores higher on Steam reviews (92.8% positive) than Cities: Skylines II (55.7% 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 Cities: Skylines II
Choose Cities: Skylines II if it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 32,820 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Cities: Skylines and Cities: Skylines II sit in 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 |  Cities: Skylines II | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2015 | 2023 |
| Genres | Strategy, Simulation | Simulation |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 8.99 USD | 34.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 92.8% positive (99,307 reviews) | 55.7% positive (32,820 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Colossal Order | Iceflake Studios, Colossal Order |
Side by side
- Both are Simulation games on Steam.
- Cities: Skylines (2015) is 8 years older than Cities: Skylines II (2023).
- Cities: Skylines scores higher on Steam reviews (92.8% positive) than Cities: Skylines II (55.7% positive).
- Cities: Skylines is currently ~74% cheaper on Steam than Cities: Skylines II (8.99 USD vs. 34.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Cities: Skylines is Deck Playable, Cities: Skylines II is Deck Unsupported.
Cities: Skylines vs Cities: Skylines II — FAQ
- Which is better, Cities: Skylines or Cities: Skylines II?
- On Steam reviews Cities: Skylines scores higher (92.8% positive) than Cities: Skylines II (55.7% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Cities: Skylines is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Cities: Skylines or Cities: Skylines II first?
- If you want chronology, Cities: Skylines (2015) came out before Cities: Skylines II (2023). 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 Cities: Skylines II similar?
- They overlap on 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.