With just a week remaining before the highly-anticipated release of Cities: Skylines 2, developers Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive have taken an unusual step by cautioning fans about the city-building game’s performance.

In an announcement posted today on the Paradox Interactive forum, the message is clear: Players should temper their expectations when it comes to performance.

The statement acknowledges, “Cities: Skylines 2 is a next-gen title, and naturally, it demands certain hardware requirements. With that said, while our team has worked tirelessly to deliver the best experience possible, we have not achieved the benchmark we targeted.”

Unlike the console version, which saw delays, the PC release of Cities: Skylines 2 will proceed as scheduled. The FAQ provides some insight into their decision, explaining, “We’ve taken the long-term vision of the project into account and feel that a release now is the right step.” However, the reasoning behind this choice remains unexplained.

The developers are not shying away from their commitment to post-launch improvements, with the statement emphasizing, “We will continually improve the game over the coming months, but we also want to manage expectations on performance for the coming release. Our ambition is for Cities: Skylines II to be enjoyed by as many players as possible, and we’re committed to ensuring it reaches its full potential.”

In essence, the strategy appears to be a familiar one in the gaming industry – release now and address issues later. While it may be somewhat refreshing to receive a heads-up about potential performance challenges before the game’s launch, it remains a disappointment for eager fans.

For players who still intend to purchase the game upon its release, the developers promise further details on what they can do to optimize performance. The statement notes, “We have determined a few graphic settings that have minimal impact on the player experience but increase performance significantly. We will provide more details shortly.”

Tags: Cities: Skylines Cities: Skylines II City-building game Colossal Order Paradox Interactive Strategy Video Game Unity