It seems almost ridiculous, the difference that bikes can make in Cities Skylines 2. Given the various problems you have to face in the municipal strategy sequel – taxes, land values, crime, healthcare standards – the existence, or lack, of bike lanes feels superficial. But without them, the entire city building game can grind to a halt. Everything in CS2 is about roads. It doesn't matter how hard you try – without a good Cities Skylines 2 road network, you're cooked. Bike lanes take away from car and vehicle traffic and make everything run cleaner and smoother. So far, however, they've been absent, but Colossal Order has some good news.
It's still a tricky time for flaws in CS2 even before launch. Steam reviews are still mixed and the player numbers have never gotten close to the day-one peak. But Colossal Order is working hard on overhauls and fixes. The economy, modding tools, and simulation have all been hugely retooled since the release in 2023, and there's every chance that Cities Skylines 2 can still reach the heights of its predecessor. But we need bikes.
Adding proper bikes and bike lanes to Cities Skylines 2 will, hopefully, go a long way to making road building and overall planning and design a lot better. Subway networks and bus routes can help take the sting out of the rush-hour commute, but bikes are the big fix. Now, Colossal Order says they're still in the works, and they'll eventually be added to the base game.
"There are no plans for bicycles to be paid content," the developer says, responding to a CS2 player on X. "They didn't make it for release due to characters being delayed (they need animations), but they were and still are planned to be a part of the base game."
So, bikes are still happening and they will be free when they're finished. In the meantime, if you're struggling with roads, there's a game-changing mod that makes the entire process a lot more detailed and adaptive. You can check that out right here.
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