I've only just seen this so I'm a little late! 
Colossal Order, the creators of Cities: Skylines II, have posted an apology on Steam in relation to the state of the game and the recently released DLC Beach Properties.
Not just relating to Colossal Order or Paradox Interactive, but it's becoming all too common now for gaming companies to rush out content, offer rewards for those who purchase early for a quick cash boost and to improve sales figures, and then expect the consumer to bug test and find problems with the game. It's an even bigger kick in the face when a game has serious problems but PAID DLC, which is also buggy and/or lacking content, is added before these issues are fixed.
Then comes along the usual corporate apology. I'm sorry, but these apologies are now starting to wear thin - these companies know what they are doing, and will no doubt feel it financially now people are waking up and starting to realise how bad the gaming industry has become over the last few years.
Stop pre-ordering games! In fact, stop pre-ordering anything. If the game is released and it's not fit for purpose or they have clearly lied in the marketing, get a refund.
Read more below.
Dear Cities fans,
We see and understand the disappointment many of you have expressed after the release of Cities: Skylines II and the recent release of Beach Properties. We asked for your patience and support, and you’ve shown those. In return, we let you down. We thought we could make up for the shortcomings of the game in a timeframe that was unrealistic, and rushed out a DLC that should not have been published in its current form. For all this, we are truly sorry. When we’ve made statements like this one before, it’s included a pledge to keep making improvements, and while we are working on these updates, they haven’t happened at a speed or magnitude that is acceptable, and it pains us that we've now lost the trust of many of you. We want to do better.
The very first thing we’re doing is to compensate those who purchased Beach Properties. We will change the pack to be a free addition to the game, refund it to the extent possible, and provide additional content within the Ultimate Edition. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to offer refunds for Ultimate Edition buyers. This is due to the distribution of the Ultimate Edition across digital and physical storefronts, which create significant complexities for executing a partial refund. We realize that this is far from ideal, especially given the dedication those who have stayed with us since launch have shown. We are committed to repaying that loyalty, and therefore, we will compensate Ultimate Edition holders by adding 3 Creator Packs and 3 Radio Stations which, together, sum up to a value of USD 39.99. This solution hopefully ensures that you, regardless of purchase method, feel you receive fair compensation.
Looking ahead, we also want to make immediate and meaningful changes in the way we approach the game’s development and our communication with you. Firstly, this means a complete focus on improving the base game and modding tools, and secondly, we want to better involve you, the community, as we choose our priorities going forward. We will focus on additional free patches and game updates in the coming months before Colossal Order spends time on new paid content, resulting in a move of the Bridges and Ports Expansion to 2025. In addition, the aforementioned Creator Packs are being produced independently, and will not take any focus away from the work on improving the game. To make sure we focus on the right things, we’re putting together an advisory meeting, where a small group of player representatives, together with Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive, will discuss the development plan for this year. The people in this group are chosen for the size of their following within the community to represent as many people as possible. The teams from Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive will provide them with full transparency and answer any questions and critiques voiced. Our hope is that together with you, our community, we can make sure that we do not repeat the same mistakes we have made in the past and bring this game into a bright future.
We also want to address the pending Console release. As you know, our plan was to release in Spring of this year. We have been hesitant to communicate an actual release window because of the uncertainty we are facing, and to not make further promises we might not be able to keep. We have been struggling to get Cities: Skylines II to the necessary level of optimization for a console release, but are now hopeful that an upcoming build delivery in April will demonstrate sufficient progress for us to progress with a release candidate, and then a release build targeted for October. Before we have seen and evaluated the progress made in these builds however, we will not be able to confirm the release date, and even then, some uncertainty always remains. Our ambition is to deliver the experience that you all deserved at launch, but it will take time. It’s important to note that the team working on the console release operates separately from our PC development team, so it will be progressing without splitting our focus or time.
In closing, we want to reaffirm our dedication to making Cities: Skylines II the best city builder it can be. We appreciate your support and feedback, and hope we can regain your trust going forward. It’s our responsibility to earn it, and we hope these actions are a first step in the right direction.
We are deeply grateful for your continued passion for our game. Please stay tuned for further updates on the game and the refund process, and thank you for being a part of our community.
Sincerely,
Mariina Hallikainen
CEO, Colossal Order
Mattias Lilja
Deputy CEO, Paradox Interactive
We have created an FAQ page with information on how your refunds will be processed and further information about release timelines.
Source and further information
Steam:
store.steampowered.com
Forum / FAQ:
forum.paradoxplaza.com
Colossal Order, the creators of Cities: Skylines II, have posted an apology on Steam in relation to the state of the game and the recently released DLC Beach Properties.
Not just relating to Colossal Order or Paradox Interactive, but it's becoming all too common now for gaming companies to rush out content, offer rewards for those who purchase early for a quick cash boost and to improve sales figures, and then expect the consumer to bug test and find problems with the game. It's an even bigger kick in the face when a game has serious problems but PAID DLC, which is also buggy and/or lacking content, is added before these issues are fixed.
Then comes along the usual corporate apology. I'm sorry, but these apologies are now starting to wear thin - these companies know what they are doing, and will no doubt feel it financially now people are waking up and starting to realise how bad the gaming industry has become over the last few years.
Stop pre-ordering games! In fact, stop pre-ordering anything. If the game is released and it's not fit for purpose or they have clearly lied in the marketing, get a refund.
Read more below.
The Way Forward, an update from the team behind Cities: Skylines
An update on Beach Properties, console & patches
Dear Cities fans,
We see and understand the disappointment many of you have expressed after the release of Cities: Skylines II and the recent release of Beach Properties. We asked for your patience and support, and you’ve shown those. In return, we let you down. We thought we could make up for the shortcomings of the game in a timeframe that was unrealistic, and rushed out a DLC that should not have been published in its current form. For all this, we are truly sorry. When we’ve made statements like this one before, it’s included a pledge to keep making improvements, and while we are working on these updates, they haven’t happened at a speed or magnitude that is acceptable, and it pains us that we've now lost the trust of many of you. We want to do better.
The very first thing we’re doing is to compensate those who purchased Beach Properties. We will change the pack to be a free addition to the game, refund it to the extent possible, and provide additional content within the Ultimate Edition. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to offer refunds for Ultimate Edition buyers. This is due to the distribution of the Ultimate Edition across digital and physical storefronts, which create significant complexities for executing a partial refund. We realize that this is far from ideal, especially given the dedication those who have stayed with us since launch have shown. We are committed to repaying that loyalty, and therefore, we will compensate Ultimate Edition holders by adding 3 Creator Packs and 3 Radio Stations which, together, sum up to a value of USD 39.99. This solution hopefully ensures that you, regardless of purchase method, feel you receive fair compensation.
Looking ahead, we also want to make immediate and meaningful changes in the way we approach the game’s development and our communication with you. Firstly, this means a complete focus on improving the base game and modding tools, and secondly, we want to better involve you, the community, as we choose our priorities going forward. We will focus on additional free patches and game updates in the coming months before Colossal Order spends time on new paid content, resulting in a move of the Bridges and Ports Expansion to 2025. In addition, the aforementioned Creator Packs are being produced independently, and will not take any focus away from the work on improving the game. To make sure we focus on the right things, we’re putting together an advisory meeting, where a small group of player representatives, together with Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive, will discuss the development plan for this year. The people in this group are chosen for the size of their following within the community to represent as many people as possible. The teams from Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive will provide them with full transparency and answer any questions and critiques voiced. Our hope is that together with you, our community, we can make sure that we do not repeat the same mistakes we have made in the past and bring this game into a bright future.
We also want to address the pending Console release. As you know, our plan was to release in Spring of this year. We have been hesitant to communicate an actual release window because of the uncertainty we are facing, and to not make further promises we might not be able to keep. We have been struggling to get Cities: Skylines II to the necessary level of optimization for a console release, but are now hopeful that an upcoming build delivery in April will demonstrate sufficient progress for us to progress with a release candidate, and then a release build targeted for October. Before we have seen and evaluated the progress made in these builds however, we will not be able to confirm the release date, and even then, some uncertainty always remains. Our ambition is to deliver the experience that you all deserved at launch, but it will take time. It’s important to note that the team working on the console release operates separately from our PC development team, so it will be progressing without splitting our focus or time.
In closing, we want to reaffirm our dedication to making Cities: Skylines II the best city builder it can be. We appreciate your support and feedback, and hope we can regain your trust going forward. It’s our responsibility to earn it, and we hope these actions are a first step in the right direction.
We are deeply grateful for your continued passion for our game. Please stay tuned for further updates on the game and the refund process, and thank you for being a part of our community.
Sincerely,
Mariina Hallikainen
CEO, Colossal Order
Mattias Lilja
Deputy CEO, Paradox Interactive
We have created an FAQ page with information on how your refunds will be processed and further information about release timelines.
Source and further information
Steam:
Cities: Skylines II - The Way Forward, an update from the team behind Cities: Skylines - Steam News
An update on Beach Properties, console & patches
Forum / FAQ:
FAQ - The Way Forward
Welcome to the FAQ that has been posted alongside the message from Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen and Paradox Interactive Deputy CEO Mattias Lilja. The questions have been sorted into categories to make it easier to read. If you haven't...
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