Cities: Skylines is getting a second life on Nintendo hardware. Paradox Interactive and Tantalus Media have announced Cities: Skylines – Expanded Edition, a version of Colossal Order's city-builder rebuilt for Nintendo Switch 2, launching October 28, 2026 at $49 / £41.49 / €49. The headline change is space: cities can now sprawl across 25 buildable tiles instead of the nine the original Switch release allowed. On the same day, PC, PlayStation and Xbox players get two new Content Creator Packs and a radio station.
Nearly three times the land to build on
The tile limit was the defining compromise of the 2018 Switch edition. Nine tiles is enough for a respectable town, but anyone who has played the game on PC knows the interesting problems start when a city outgrows its first highway interchange and needs to push into new valleys, coastlines and industrial zones. Lifting the cap to 25 tiles puts the Switch 2 version far closer to the full experience, and it changes how long a single save can stay interesting before the map runs out.
The Expanded Edition also brings the Map Editor to a Nintendo platform for the first time, so players can sculpt their own terrain and water layouts rather than choosing from a fixed list of starting maps. For a game whose community has always lived on custom landscapes, that is a meaningful addition.
Better tools, and a mouse if you want one
Paradox lists a set of quality-of-life upgrades aimed squarely at the fiddly parts of city building on a console:
- Precision placement, a distance indicator and updated snapping options for laying roads and buildings more exactly.
- An Environmental Controls Panel that adjusts time of day, rain, fog and environmental colouring in real time.
- A Quick Selection Tool for jumping between the tools and assets you use most.
- Keyboard and mouse support alongside controller layouts, which should make dense road work far less painful on a TV.
There are also two graphics options. A Performance setting targets 60 frames per second using upscaling and adjusted visual quality, while a Quality setting targets 30 frames per second and prioritises fidelity. Simulation-heavy builders tend to slow down as populations climb, so how well those targets hold in a late-game metropolis is the thing to watch at launch.
The DLC comes in the box
The Expanded Edition bundles a long list of the game's add-ons rather than selling them separately. Paradox names After Dark, Snowfall, Green Cities, Sunset Harbor, Map Pack 3, Country Road, Pearls from the East, Deep Focus Radio, Carols, Candles & Candy, and Match Day as included. That covers nightlife and tourism, winter maps and heating, eco-friendly buildings, fishing industry and new transit, plus a handful of themed asset and music packs.
Owners of the original Switch version are not being asked to pay full price again. A 70% loyalty discount on the Expanded Edition runs from October 28, 2026 until April 28, 2027, which gives existing players six months to make the jump.
New packs for PC, PlayStation and Xbox
The Switch 2 launch is paired with fresh content for everyone else, all arriving on October 28 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and the Remastered console version.
Mansions & Manors, by creator Feindbold, introduces a new residential zone of "old money" estates. According to its Steam listing it contains a new district style with 45 low-density residential buildings, seven unique mansion estates, six service buildings, six luxury residential cars and 12 props. It costs $5.99 / £4.99 / €5.99.
Holiday Getaways, by Tomas13TO, is built for tourist districts: 30 unique getaway destinations, 10 parks and 18 props for resorts, holiday parks and vacation spots. It is also $5.99 / £4.99 / €5.99.
Rounding out the drop is Blueprint Beats Radio, a new in-game station with 16 lo-fi hip-hop, chillhop and down-tempo tracks, priced at $3.99 / £2.99 / €3.99. All three are available together as the Estates & Escapes Bundle for $12.99 / £10.99 / €12.99.
Why it matters
Cities: Skylines is more than a decade old, and Paradox's attention has largely shifted to its sequel. Yet the original keeps getting support: Content Creator Packs continue to land, and now it is getting a substantially upgraded console edition. For Switch 2 owners who never had a good city-builder on the go, a version with most of the PC game's room to grow, a map editor, mouse support and a pile of expansions included is a strong pitch. For Switch owners who already bought it once, the 70% discount makes the upgrade an easy one to consider when it launches on October 28.
