After announcing a change in developers back in November, Cities: Skylines 2 has finally unveiled its first major update under new management.

On the 29th, Paradox Interactive teased a massive visual patch for the new year. This update marks the first contribution from Iceflake Studios, who took over development duties in early 2026, and it promises to overhaul the city’s aesthetic components. The focus here is on improving the intuitiveness of the gameplay and granting players more creative freedom.

The most striking addition is the asset recolouring feature. Drawing inspiration from player yenyang's 'Recolour' mod, this tool allows you to paint buildings, props, and vehicles to your heart’s content. Down the line, they plan to introduce colour favourites, district-wide bulk application, and even the ability to tint trees and foliage.

The UI is also getting a much-needed scrub. The developers admitted, "We recognise the current UI has been a bit of a muddle when it comes to relaying information," promising to streamline tutorials and make icons far more intuitive. Expect significant changes to toolbar aesthetics and a new in-game encyclopaedia system, which will help you sort through categories and DLC-specific details. The encyclopaedia is slated for a release shortly after the initial update.

Finally, they are sprucing up the environmental effects. Improvements to day-night lighting and weather mean your city will look much crisper after dark, while sky textures and cloud formations are being tweaked for a more realistic feel. Fog will now react dynamically to weather and cloud density, and rainstorms are set to be more dramatic. Plus, climate settings per map are being refined to highlight regional characteristics—you can even look forward to seeing snow accumulate on surfaces more realistically.

This visual patch is aiming for a release in the latter half of February, and the team assures us that they’ll keep refining things based on community feedback.

Meanwhile, Iceflake Studios noted that they are already prepping a follow-up update to tackle core mechanics and system improvements.