Cities Skylines 2 finally has a proper encyclopedia, plus new DLC to bolster your work and transport options

The free Cities Skylines 2 anniversary update adds an arena and is joined by two new DLC creator packs, Office Evolution and City Stations.

New Cities: Skylines 2 developer Iceflake Studios is celebrating 11 years of the series with a free anniversary update, and it's joined by two more creator packs. A lot has changed in the past 12 months, with original dev CO parting ways with publisher Paradox, who in turn has handed the struggling city-building game to another team. While it hasn't been a completely smooth handover, with dramatic visual bugs creeping into the early patches, there's still a sense of a fresh direction, and maybe some hope for the future.

The new Cities: Skylines 2 update isn't a huge one, by Iceflake's own admission, but there are a couple of welcome inclusions. The first is the Iceflake Arena, a proper CS2 stadium that acts as a signature commercial building for "proper entertainment like concerts and ice hockey matches." It's got a two-kilometer boost to attractiveness and well-being. Then there's the new zoning tool, inspired by modder 'River-mochi.' This enables you to strip the zoning from one or both sides of individual roads, and Iceflake adds that it's considering more ways to expand the tool in the future.

Then there's the first iteration of Iceflake's new in-game Encyclopedia. This replaces the old Advisor, and is designed to act as your go-to hotspot for anything you need to know about Cities: Skylines 2. It includes all of the basic tutorial information, along with more expansive descriptions of features when necessary. There's also a search function to help you find the details you're looking for at a glance.

Alongside the anniversary update come two new creator packs, each of which is accompanied by a new radio station that can be purchased separately or as part of a bundle. The first is Office Evolution, by 'Titan,' which aims to deliver a range of workspaces in the form of a high-density office zone. These are designed to capture the way that classic 19th-century stone buildings are often adapted gradually into constructions of glass and steel, or placed alongside more modern offerings.

The second is City Stations, by 'BadPeanut,' who describes their new creation as "a bit of a spiritual sequel" to their Train Stations creator pack for the original Cities: Skylines. "A lot of the concepts I used in that pack have been expanded on here, but this time making use of some of the new functionality Cities: Skylines 2 gives us as asset creators," they explain.

With the inclusion of trams alongside buses, trains, and subways, BadPeanut aimed to offer two more "everyday" options for each transport type, along with a major, landmark station that acts as a "statement piece" and has a more consistent look no matter how you use it. In the end, they went slightly above and beyond that initial goal, resulting in a total of 22 new service buildings, 20 potential upgrades, and 14 supplementary props such as a modern pavilion for your citizens to shelter under and a clock tower.

The Cities: Skylines 2 anniversary update is available now for free. The two new creator packs, Office Evolution and City Stations, are each priced at $7.99 / £6.99, while the two accompanying radio stations, Skyrail Radio and Smooth Vibes FM, cost $4.99 / £4.49 each. You can get all four in a bundle for $21.99 / £18.49, saving 15%. You'll find that here.

Looking to the future, Iceflake notes that it's "continuing to work on improvements and will share more updates in the coming months." While there's still a long road to any potential full recovery, recent Steam reviews are trending upwards, and it's certainly good to see the increased pace of updates and responsiveness from the team. Will it eventually be heralded as one of the great reputation turn-arounds? Watch this space.