Cities in Motion 2 vs Cities: Skylines II
Cities in Motion 2 is a sandbox simulation game from Colossal Order (2013) while Cities: Skylines II is an open-world sandbox game from Iceflake Studios (2023).
What each one is
Steam files Cities in Motion 2 under Sandbox and Simulation. In contrast, it files Cities: Skylines II under Open-World and Sandbox.
Cities in Motion 2 is the sequel to the popular mass transit simulation game Cities in Motion. Build, manage and lead your transportation network to provide cities with their ever changing needs. CIM2 introduces new features including multiplayer game modes, day and night cycles, timetables and dynamic cities.
Raise a city from the ground up and transform it into a thriving metropolis with the most realistic city builder ever. Push your creativity and problem-solving to build on a scale you've never experienced. With deep simulation and a living economy, this is world-building without limits.
At a glance
| Cities in Motion 2 | Cities: Skylines II | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 5.7/10 | 5.7/10 |
| Steam rating | Mixed (58%, 2,495) | Mixed (56%, 91,995) |
| Critic aggregate | 72/100 | No aggregate |
| Price | $19.99 | $49.99 |
| Install size | — | 60 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | unsupported |
| Released | 2013 | 2023 |
| Developer | Colossal Order | Iceflake Studios |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Cities in Motion 2 vs Cities: Skylines II, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Cities in Motion 2Sandbox simulation gameCities: Skylines IIOpen-world sandbox gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Cities in Motion 2Simulation, Strategy, TransportationCities: Skylines IICity Builder, Simulation, BuildingThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Cities in Motion 2Score 5.7 · 58% on Steam · 72 criticCities: Skylines IIScore 5.7 · 56% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Cities in Motion 22,495 reviews · 12 add-onsCities: Skylines II91,995 reviews · 21 add-ons · 60 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Cities in Motion 2 ✓$19.99Cities: Skylines II$49.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Cities in Motion 2 ✓PlayableCities: Skylines IIUnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Cities in Motion 2 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueCities in Motion 2 and Cities: Skylines II on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The cheaper right now: Cities in Motion 2 ($19.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Cities in Motion 2 (playable)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Cities: Skylines II (91,995 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
SimulationStrategyTransportationManagementCity BuilderSandboxEconomyBuilding
Where they differ
TrainsCo-op
RealisticModdableRelaxingResource ManagementCasualAtmospheric
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Cities in Motion 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Cities: Skylines II is relaxed, easy to pick up.
System requirements, side by side
| Cities in Motion 2 | Cities: Skylines II | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | Nvidia® GeForce™ GTX 970 (4 GB) |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel® Core™ i7-6700K |
| Minimum RAM | — | 8 GB |
| Install size | — | 60 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Cities in Motion 2 · Cities: Skylines II.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Cities in Motion 2 and 1 for Cities: Skylines II. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Cities in Motion 2 and Cities: Skylines II in scope?
Cities in Motion 2 has drawn 2,495 Steam reviews and ships 12 add-ons. Cities: Skylines II has drawn 91,995 Steam reviews, ships 21 add-ons and installs in 60 GB.
Is Cities in Motion 2 or Cities: Skylines II better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Cities in Motion 2 rates higher (5.7 to 5.7). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Cities in Motion 2 or Cities: Skylines II?
Cities in Motion 2 is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $49.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.