Cities: Skylines 2's bicycle update adds a lot more than just bikes, as Colossal Order prepares to hand over development to a new studio

A row of parked bikes lines a pavement in Cities: Skylines 2 — (Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

Colossal Order will soon part ways with its difficult second child, Cities: Skylines 2, but at least the developer got to teach the sequel to ride a bike before sending it to live with adoptive parent Iceflake Studios. The newly released bike patch actually adds bicycles and electric scooters into Skylines 2, along with all the infrastructural gubbins that go along with a bicycle-friendly city.

By default, your bike-loving citizens will cycle along the standard road network with cars and trucks. But you can create specific bicycle paths and bicycle road lanes to separate cars from cyclists—which is safer and healthier for everyone. Since cyclists also need a place to park their bikes when they reach their destination, the update also adds numerous types of bike parks. Just as adding more car parks encourages drivers not to park on the street, bike parks will encourage more citizens to cycle around the city rather than drive.

But the bike patch adds considerably more, such as several new types of park. This includes a bike park that is also, wait for it, a bike park. What I mean by that is it's a place to park your bike that is also a bike park. Sorry, that still isn't clear enough. I mean a recreational civic area themed around bicycles where you can also safely stow your two-wheeled, pedal-powered transportation device for a temporary period. Jeez. English, eh? Who needs it?

What has been added with BIKE PATCH? | Tutorial | Cities: Skylines II - YouTube

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Elsewhere, the bike patch adds a new campfire area, several types of business plaza to ensure workers don't enjoy themselves too much while on a break, and a whole bunch of transportation buildings that aren't related to bikes. This includes a new train depot, a railway terminus station that can be extended with a multiplatform bus station and a tram stop, a cargo transfer station, and three new tram stations. Finally, the update adds two new types of wind turbines and a small cemetery—perfect for when you're running out of places to hide the corpses.

While the bike patch will likely be the last major mechanical update introduced by Colossal Order, the studio will be implementing Asset Mods before it bows out completely at the start of next year. From that point onward, it's Iceflake Studios' baby, with Colossal Order's fellow Finnish developer aiming to outline its plans for the game soon.

It still isn't clear exactly why Colossal Order is handing off development of Skylines 2 to another studio. The sequel has certainly not been an easy ride for CO, but it's very rare that a developer willingly hands over the creative reins to another studio. Paradox, meanwhile, has developed a track record of switching projects between developers, having done so with both Prison Architect 2 and Bloodlines 2.

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Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims.

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