Paradox Interactive and the Lego Group revealed Lego Skylines at Gamescom Opening Night Live, confirming a spin-off that leaked earlier this year through a rating filed with Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee. It is coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S and Nintendo Switch 2, and no release date was given.
Development sits with Iceflake Studios, the team that took over the Cities: Skylines series from original developer Colossal Order after the troubled launch and long repair job on Cities: Skylines 2. Paradox did not name the studio on stage, but the game's Steam page, which went live during the showcase, lists Iceflake.
A softer take on the formula
Paradox described the game as a playful take on city building. Players cover the basics first, laying roads and supplying electricity, food and water, then build out the parts citizens actually live with: homes, parks, stores, hospitals, museums and sports arenas. Growing a city unlocks further buildings and services, which raise the city's rating and its residents' happiness.
Start with a single plot, build your first house, and watch your neighbourhood grow into a living, breathing metropolis shaped by your decisions.
The Lego element appears to land mainly on customization. The announcement and Steam listing promise what the publisher calls a frankly absurd amount of buildings, decorations and other items, with additional customizable plots and buildings intended to keep one player's city from looking like everyone else's. Neither Paradox nor Iceflake has explained in detail how brick building interacts with the simulation layer.
Iceflake co-founder and game director Lasse Liljedahl said the studio wants to turn city building into a more personal exercise, limited only by what a player imagines. Fredrik Löving, the Lego Group's SVP and global head of game, set a higher bar in the announcement, saying the ambition was not simply to make a Lego city builder but to make one considered among the best in its genre.
That is a pointed claim given how Cities: Skylines 2 went after its 2023 launch, and Rock Paper Shotgun noted the spin-off arrives without the expectations a numbered Cities: Skylines 3 would carry. Paradox is teasing further reveals through the game's newsletter, and the Steam page is open for wishlists.