The highly anticipated city simulation sequel Cities: Skylines 2 has been delayed for consoles, developer Colossal Order and publisher Paradox Interactive have announced.

Cities: Skylines 2 was officially unveiled earlier this year and its release date was later announced as 24th October for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

The newly announced delay will only affect the console versions of the game. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions are now expected to release in spring 2024.

"We realise that we need more time to reach the quality targets we have set," Colossal Order and Paradox said in a statement regarding the delay. "The additional time allows us to focus on matching the quality and performance across all platforms," the companies added.

Console pre-orders are being automatically refunded, Paradox stated in its FAQ page on the delay. Digital pre-orders are being handled automatically, but anyone with a physical pre-order has been advised to contact the retailer they placed their order with to ensure they are refunded.

Cities: Skylines 2 looks to be more visually realistic than its predecessor. Other new features listed by Paradox include a "fully-realised transport and economy systems" and obstacles to contend with such as "rising pollution, changeable weather, and seasonal challenges".

Mayors! We’re hard at work getting the game ready for release. We've come to realize that we need more time to reach the quality targets we've set for Console. We want to provide the best experience for our players, we’re updating the release window for Xbox & PS5 to Spring 2024. pic.twitter.com/eljCTi0deF