The best Cities: Skylines mods start with Harmony, Skyve and Loading Screen Mod Revisited, then add the big three road tools (Traffic Manager: President Edition, Move It and Network Anarchy) before branching into transit, city services, simulation, sandbox and detailing mods. This list is for the first game from 2015, not Cities: Skylines II, and every pick is a free Steam Workshop mod. We first checked the original 50 against their own Workshop pages on September 21, 2026, and on October 21, 2026, we rechecked all of them and added 50 more from the Workshop’s most subscribed mods. All 100 are still listed and downloadable.
Two setup facts matter. Subscribe on the Workshop, then enable each mod in the in-game Content Manager, and let Skyve handle load order and compatibility warnings. The mod scene has also been through two big breaks. The 2022 and 2023 updates retired a generation of classics, which is why so many mods below are “Revisited”, “Renewed” or “Continued” versions of older ones. Then the free Race Day patch in March 2026 changed enough code that Paradox’s own “State of Mods” post warned it would “probably break many mods.” Before you add anything, back up your save, and unsubscribe from broken mods rather than just disabling them, as Paradox advises.
Essentials and Fixes
These are the mods nearly every modded city runs, including the dependencies other mods need and the tools that keep a big mod list stable.
1. Harmony
Harmony is not something you use directly. It is a patching library that dozens of mods on this list need, and many of them subscribe you to it automatically. Its creator, a Colossal Order employee who maintains it on a personal account, notes that it does not matter whether it is enabled, because other mods simply use its files. Its last update was in 2022, and replies in its comments since the Race Day patch say it is still fully compatible and does not need updating. Creator: boformer. Download: Harmony on Steam Workshop.
2. Skyve
Skyve is the mod manager for modern Cities: Skylines. It replaced both Loading Order Mod and the old Compatibility Report mod, and it scans your whole collection for broken, outdated and conflicting mods and assets without opening the game. It also sorts load order automatically, putting Harmony first, and supports profiles, filtering, Linux and macOS. If you install one tool before anything else, make it this one. Creator: Chamëleon TBN and T. D. W. Download: Skyve on Steam Workshop.
3. Loading Screen Mod Revisited
Loading Screen Mod Revisited continues thale5’s original Loading Screen Mod, the long-standing fix for slow, memory-hungry loading in asset-heavy cities. Its page lists improved performance, a live memory usage display, and the option to skip buildings, props, vehicles, networks and trees you do not want loaded. It also has a Safe Mode for rescuing troubled saves. Its author says nearly every “blue screen” on load traces back to an outdated mod or missing asset, not to this one. Unsubscribe from any other Loading Screen Mod version first. Creator: algernon. Download: Loading Screen Mod Revisited on Steam Workshop.
4. UnifiedUI (UUI) Continued
UnifiedUI gathers the buttons of your other mods into one draggable dock, so Move It, Node Controller, Zoning Adjuster and the rest stop scattering icons across the screen. It can also detect hotkey conflicts between supported mods. This is the maintained copy of kian.zarrin’s original, which is now marked deprecated. Its last update was in 2023, before the Race Day patch. Its maintainer has said there is no update planned, since the continued version mostly exists to keep it rebuilt against the game’s files. Creator: codewitch. Download: UnifiedUI Continued on Steam Workshop.
5. 81 Tiles 2
Every map has 81 tiles, but the base game only lets you build on the 25 in the middle. 81 Tiles 2 opens the whole map and replaces the original 81 Tiles mod. It does not change unlock progression unless you tell it to, and it adds optional “no need for power lines” and “no need for pipes” settings. Its page warns that old, broken mods are the usual cause of loading failures with it, so clean your list first. Creator: algernon. Download: 81 Tiles 2 on Steam Workshop.
6. More PathUnits
Big cities eventually run out of PathUnits, the internal data the game uses to route every car and cim, and when that happens traffic and services quietly fail. More PathUnits doubles the limit from 262,144 to 524,288. It is built to work with TM:PE. The catch, as its page stresses: a save made with it will not load without it, so keep a backup and restart the game after first enabling it. Creator: algernon. Download: More PathUnits on Steam Workshop.
7. Broken Nodes Detector
Broken Nodes Detector finds invisible faults the base game never reports: broken nodes that make vehicles despawn, ghost nodes behind “array index” errors, disconnected transit stops, and segments too short for traffic to use cleanly. It walks you to each problem one at a time so you can bulldoze it or nudge it with Move It. The TM:PE team recommends it on their own page for vehicles that stop or vanish. Creator: Krzychu1245. Download: Broken Nodes Detector on Steam Workshop.
8. Find It! 2
Once you subscribe to a few hundred Workshop assets, the vanilla menus become useless. Find It! 2 lets you search, filter, select and place any asset from one panel, and shows extra details the game normally hides. It is a fork of SamsamTS’s original Find It, which is no longer on the Workshop, and it never touches game mechanics, so it will not corrupt a save. Creator: sway. Download: Find It! 2 on Steam Workshop.
9. FPS Booster
FPS Booster raises frame rates by cutting work the game wastes every frame: its page says the game updates more than 10,000 interface elements per frame, most of which do not need it, and the mod skips those updates. It patches the game in memory at launch instead of changing files, so it can be unsubscribed at any time, and it includes everything from the older Mini FPS Booster. Results vary by PC, and its page warns it can push a laptop GPU to full speed, which is why it ships with an FPS limiter. It is tagged compatible with version 1.21.1 and was last updated on March 10, 2026, the day Race Day launched. Creator: Krzychu1245 and egi. Download: FPS Booster on Steam Workshop.
10. Less Steam
Less Steam stops the flood of Steam requests the game makes while the main menu loads. Its page explains that with many Workshop subscriptions, Content Manager asks Steam about every item just to show details like author names, none of which matters in play, and this mod holds those requests until you actually open an item. It comes from thale5, the author of the original Loading Screen Mod, and takes effect from your next game start. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in September 2024. Creator: thale5. Download: Less Steam on Steam Workshop.
11. Visibility Control
Visibility Control sets how far away buildings, networks, trees, props and vehicles keep their full detail, and it adds the additive shader and transparency fixes that many lit and glass Workshop assets need. Its page says it includes the functions of Ultimate Level Of Detail (ULOD) and the old Additive Shader mod, so it replaces both and should not run alongside them. Its defaults favor detail over frame rate, and hotkeys toggle a maximum-detail screenshot mode and a vanilla mode for comparison. It was last updated in November 2025. Creator: algernon and Chamëleon TBN. Download: Visibility Control on Steam Workshop.
12. UI Resolution
UI Resolution fixes the oversized interface on big monitors. Its page explains that the game always draws its interface at 1920×1080 whatever your screen resolution, so on large high-resolution screens everything looks too big; the mod scales it to your real resolution, with a slider if you want it larger or smaller. Its page warns that a few other mods’ panels use fixed positions and may land in odd places. It was updated on March 11, 2026, the day after the Race Day patch. Creator: macsergey. Download: UI Resolution on Steam Workshop.
Roads and Traffic
Traffic is the problem that ends most cities, and these are the mods players use to fix it and to build roads the base game will not allow.
13. Traffic Manager: President Edition (TM:PE)
TM:PE is the most important gameplay mod for Cities: Skylines, with around 3.5 million current subscribers. Its page sums it up as better lane and parking usage plus control over junctions, roads and rails. In practice that means lane connectors, lane arrows, priority signs, timed traffic lights, speed limits and vehicle restrictions. Its page says to subscribe to only one TM:PE version at a time, and to unsubscribe from the others completely. It was updated on March 10, 2026, the day the Race Day patch went live. Creator: Krzychu1245 and the TM:PE team. Download: TM:PE on Steam Workshop.
14. Move It
Move It lets you select, move, rotate and align almost anything: buildings, trees, props, decals, surfaces and road nodes. Build a messy junction, then fix it without bulldozing. It can also clone selections and import saved layouts, which is how players share intricate builds. Version 2.10.9 was updated for game version 1.21.1. Its page recommends Prop Control and Tree Control (entries 73 and 74) for moving props and trees up and down. Creator: Quboid. Download: Move It on Steam Workshop.
15. Network Anarchy
Network Anarchy is the official continuation of Fine Road Tool and Fine Road Anarchy, and it absorbs several other old mods, including Quay Anarchy and Node Spacer. It lets you force roads to ground, elevated, bridge or tunnel mode, adjust elevation in steps, toggle collisions, and set a maximum segment length for more realistic pillar spacing. Unsubscribe from the mods it replaces first, as its page instructs. Many other mods here, such as Roundabout Builder, work best alongside it. Creator: Quboid. Download: Network Anarchy on Steam Workshop.
16. Node Controller Renewal
Node Controller Renewal lets you change what an intersection actually is: change a node’s type and shape, add crosswalks and U-turns, slope an intersection to match a hill, and shift, twist or stretch segment ends. It is the rebuilt version of kian.zarrin’s original, with a simpler interface, and it can import your old Node Controller data. It works with Move It and was updated for Race Day. Creator: macsergey. Download: Node Controller Renewal on Steam Workshop.
17. Intersection Marking Tool
Intersection Marking Tool paints custom road markings at junctions: lane lines, stop lines, fillers and crosswalks, with full color control and reusable templates. Its page is clear that the markings are cosmetic and do not direct traffic, which is TM:PE’s job. They redraw themselves if you adjust the junction with Move It, and they do not count toward game object limits. It needs Harmony. Creator: macsergey. Download: Intersection Marking Tool on Steam Workshop.
18. Network Multitool
Network Multitool is a toolbox for editing roads already on the map. It can add, remove, merge and split nodes, straighten a wobbly road into a clean line, arrange nodes into a perfect circle, even out slopes between nodes, build parallel roads, and draw smooth loops and connections. For anyone who builds realistic highways, it replaces a lot of trial and error. It was updated for Race Day in March 2026. Creator: macsergey. Download: Network Multitool on Steam Workshop.
19. RON, the Network Replacer
RON (Replace Our Networks) swaps every segment of one road, rail, metro track or path type for another across your whole city in one step. It can also rescue saves: it auto-replaces missing Network Extensions 2 roads and missing Metro Overhaul Mod tracks on load. Its author confirmed in the mod’s comments in March 2026 that it is compatible with game version 1.21 and needs no update. Creator: algernon. Download: RON on Steam Workshop.
20. Roundabout Builder (UUI Fix)
Roundabout Builder drops a roundabout on any intersection and reconnects the roads for you. Press Ctrl+O, hover a junction, and click. This fork of Strad’s original, which has millions of subscribers but has not been updated since 2022, restores its button for UnifiedUI Continued users and widens the tool window. Use one version only, and pair it with Network Anarchy, which the original recommends. Creator: BetTD. Download: Roundabout Builder (UUI Fix) on Steam Workshop.
21. Precision Engineering (Harmony)
Precision Engineering adds angle and distance readouts when you draw roads, rails, pipes and power lines. Hold Ctrl to snap to 5 degree angles, Shift for extra measurements, and Alt to snap to guidelines. This version ports the original to Harmony and was updated in March 2026. Its page says that if the original still works for you, you do not need to switch. Just never run both. Creator: tem. Download: Precision Engineering (Harmony) on Steam Workshop.
22. Hide TM:PE Crosswalks: Renewed
When TM:PE bans pedestrians from crossing at a junction, the painted crosswalk stays on the road. This mod hides it, and also hides crosswalks removed with Network Skins. It is a small fix, but it matters for anyone building realistic highways and interchanges, and it updates kian.zarrin’s original Hide TMPE Crosswalks, which is now deprecated. It was updated in March 2026. Creator: ary. Download: Hide TM:PE Crosswalks: Renewed on Steam Workshop.
23. Building Spawn Points
Many buildings send every truck and car out of a single door, which can jam the road outside. Building Spawn Points lets you move a building’s vehicle spawn points, add new ones on other sides, and set which vehicle types use each. You can then spread a busy industrial or cargo building’s traffic across several roads. Settings can apply to every building of a type and copy along with Move It. Creator: macsergey. Download: Building Spawn Points on Steam Workshop.
24. Network Extensions 2
Network Extensions 2 (NExt2) is one of the most subscribed mods on the Workshop, with nearly 3 million lifetime subscribers. It adds extra road and highway types straight into the game’s own road menus, and its page asks you to also subscribe to the assets in its “Required Assets List” discussion. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in May 2023, for the Hotels and Retreats update, so back up your save before adding it. If you ever remove it, RON (entry 19) can replace its missing roads on load. Creator: GCVos, sniggledigit, PVPositivity and BadPeanut. Download: Network Extensions 2 on Steam Workshop.
25. Parallel Road Tool (Fixed)
Parallel Road Tool draws several networks side by side or stacked at once, at any horizontal and vertical spacing, so a divided highway, a boulevard with service roads or a rail line beside a road takes one drag. It also flips one-way networks, supports left-hand traffic, and can add parallel or stacked segments to roads you already built. The original by S__T has about 1.8 million lifetime subscribers, but its page says it was tested on version 1.17.0-f3 from 2023; this fixed build exists to keep it working on newer versions, and its page says to unsubscribe from the original first. As of October 21, 2026, the fixed build was last updated in September 2025. Creator: (SSC) Anthony. Download: Parallel Road Tool (Fixed) on Steam Workshop.
26. Smart Intersection Builder
Smart Intersection Builder drops a prebuilt intersection or tollbooth asset straight onto existing roads: colliding roads are deleted and the edges reconnect to your network, with an undo button for the last placement. That turns the Workshop’s interchange assets into one-click upgrades instead of a bulldoze-and-rebuild job. Its page says it needs Network Anarchy (entry 15) and Harmony. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in September 2022, for the Plazas and Promenades update. Creator: Strad. Download: Smart Intersection Builder on Steam Workshop.
27. Network Skins Continued
Network Skins changes how individual road segments look: swap street lights, roadside trees, bridge pillars, sidewalk material and train catenaries per segment, remove overhead wires, or switch tracks between concrete and gravel. The previous version, with more than 1.3 million lifetime subscribers, is now marked deprecated, and its page points to this continuation, which fixes known issues and keeps the mod alive for future patches. Its page lists Network Anarchy, Parallel Road Tool, BOB and Loading Screen Mod Revisited as compatible, and says to unsubscribe from the original first. It was released on April 8, 2026. Creator: smeulf and Chamëleon TBN. Download: Network Skins Continued on Steam Workshop.
28. Adaptive Networks (Emergency Fix)
Adaptive Networks (AN) lets specially built road assets use per-segment and per-node settings, which is how many of the Workshop’s most detailed roads, and every Road Builder road, work. After the Race Day patch the original, with about 400,000 lifetime subscribers, was retitled [BROKEN], and its page now points players to this emergency fix. The fix’s own page is candid: saves load and basic segment and node flags work, but advanced flags such as Direct Connect, bend nodes and some parking settings may not. As of October 21, 2026, it was last updated on March 13, 2026, and its page says other modders are working on a fuller update. Creator: Madisonian. Download: Adaptive Networks (Emergency Fix) on Steam Workshop.
29. Road Builder
Road Builder lets you design your own roads without wrestling the asset editor: you lay out lanes, props, markings and models in its companion app, Thumbnail Maker, and the mod generates the road. Its page says Thumbnail Maker runs on Windows only (Linux through Wine or Proton), and that the roads it makes need Adaptive Networks (entry 28) even after they are generated. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in November 2023. Creator: Trejak, T. D. W. and Chamëleon TBN. Download: Road Builder on Steam Workshop.
30. Automatic Pedestrian Bridge Builder (Compatibility Patch)
Automatic Pedestrian Bridge Builder builds pedestrian bridges over, or tunnels under, junctions, roundabouts and roads for you, and can turn off the zebra crossings below when TM:PE is installed. The original, with more than 900,000 lifetime subscribers, is now titled [BROKEN], and its page tells players to use this unofficial compatibility patch instead. The patch’s page says it restores the mod on recent updates and was tested on version 1.21.1-f4; disable or unsubscribe from the original first. Creator: zhuch. Download: Automatic Pedestrian Bridge Builder (Compatibility Patch) on Steam Workshop.
31. Hide TM:PE Unconnected Tracks Renewed
When you use TM:PE’s lane connector on rail or tram tracks, the game still draws every track piece through the junction. This mod hides the tracks you did not connect, so complex junctions look like the real thing. The original, with more than 600,000 lifetime subscribers, is now titled [BROKEN], and its page points to this renewed version, which added tram support and is tagged compatible with version 1.21.1-f9. Creator: cylis. Download: Hide TM:PE Unconnected Tracks Renewed on Steam Workshop.
32. Advanced Road Tools
Advanced Road Tools draws complex curves, including compound curves and large circles, which makes highway interchanges far faster to build than freehand road drawing. It has close to 600,000 lifetime subscribers, and its page links a full manual on GitHub. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in June 2020 and is tagged for version 1.13.1, so back up your save before trying it on the current patch. Creator: amamIya, VictoriaCity and pcfantasy. Download: Advanced Road Tools on Steam Workshop.
33. Realistic Walking Speed
Realistic Walking Speed replaces what its author calls the unrealistic vanilla walking speed with real-world values, and slows the walking animation to match. Its page puts the result at roughly an eighth of the speed of a bus on a basic road with a 40 speed limit. It also notes that slower walking lengthens boarding at long train and metro platforms, which pairs well with Better Train Boarding (entry 42). As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in June 2023. Creator: egi. Download: Realistic Walking Speed on Steam Workshop.
Public Transport and Vehicles
These mods give you real control over transit lines, boarding and which vehicles spawn where. If transit is your favorite part of city building, our Transport Fever 3 guides cover a game built around it.
34. Transport Lines Manager
Transport Lines Manager adds line numbering and prefixes, custom budgets by time of day, per-line vehicle models, depot selection, and intercity bus and train lines. Its 14.6 update added weekend budget profiles and school bus support when used with Real Time, and 14.7 (October 2, 2026) added an option to spawn compatible vehicles at random when none are selected. This is t1a2l’s maintained version of Klyte45’s original. It is incompatible with every Improved Public Transport version, so pick one of the two. Creator: t1a2l. Download: Transport Lines Manager on Steam Workshop.
35. Improved Public Transport 3
IPT3 continues the classic IPT and IPT2 mods, and its page says it is updated for the Race Day patch. It gives line-by-line control of vehicle counts, budgets, unbunching, depots, ticket prices and boarding, and folds in several small transit mods so you manage fewer subscriptions. It is the alternative to Transport Lines Manager, not a companion: its page lists every TLM version as incompatible. Creator: Madisonian. Download: Improved Public Transport 3 on Steam Workshop.
36. Advanced Stop Selection Revisited
At a station with several platforms, the game picks which one a line uses. Advanced Stop Selection Revisited lets you hold Shift to choose the exact platform yourself, which is essential for busy multi-platform bus, tram and train hubs. It revisits BloodyPenguin’s original and adds Plazas and Promenades support. It was updated for Race Day. Creator: macsergey. Download: Advanced Stop Selection Revisited on Steam Workshop.
37. Elevated Stops Enabler Revisited
The base game will not let you put bus or tram stops on elevated roads. Elevated Stops Enabler Revisited removes that limit, so a raised busway or elevated tram line can have stops along it. Like entry 36, it revisits a BloodyPenguin original, and it was updated in March 2026. Creator: macsergey. Download: Elevated Stops Enabler Revisited on Steam Workshop.
38. Vehicle Selector
Vehicle Selector adds a button to building info panels so you can choose exactly which vehicles spawn from that building: fire trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks, taxis, post vans, industrial trucks and more. Select several and the game picks randomly between them, which is how players get a matching fleet from Workshop vehicle assets. It replaces the game’s own limited vehicle menu. Creator: algernon. Download: Vehicle Selector on Steam Workshop.
39. Advanced Vehicle Options
Advanced Vehicle Options lets you customize vehicles model by model, from which ones spawn to settings like maximum speed. It also has cleanup settings that remove all driving or parked vehicles, a lifesaver when a jammed city needs a reset. This is Tim’s maintained fork of Boogieman Sam’s original, it was updated in August 2026, and it now needs Harmony. Creator: Tim. Download: Advanced Vehicle Options on Steam Workshop.
40. Metro Overhaul Mod
Metro Overhaul Mod (MOM) rebuilds the metro network with new track styles, visible tunnels, metro lines above and below ground, adjustable station depth and length, and stations you can switch between metro and train service. It needs the required items listed on its page, and it has a Ghost Mode for leaving safely: switch it on, load and save each city, then unsubscribe. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in May 2023, so back up your save before adding it. RON (entry 19) can replace missing MOM tracks on load if you ever remove it. Creator: BloodyPenguin, sniggledigit, bsquiklehausen and BadPeanut. Download: Metro Overhaul Mod on Steam Workshop.
41. Extra Train Station Tracks
Extra Train Station Tracks supplies the station track pieces that many custom Workshop train stations are built with: concrete, gravel and no-pole versions of regular, elevated, sunken and underground tracks. You never place these yourself; they exist for station assets, which is why it has more than 1.6 million lifetime subscribers. Its page warns that unsubscribing after placing a station that uses its tracks will very likely break your save, so bulldoze those stations first. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in March 2023. Creator: BloodyPenguin, sniggledigit and boformer. Download: Extra Train Station Tracks on Steam Workshop.
42. Better Train Boarding
Better Train Boarding fixes how passengers load. Its page explains that the game sends waiting cims into cars front to back, so some walk the whole platform to reach a far car and trains leave late, while at busy bus stops the same passengers keep getting left behind. With the mod, passengers board the car nearest them on a first-come, first-served basis, for trams, buses and ferries too (not planes). As of October 21, 2026, it was last updated in June 2025. Creator: Vectorial1024. Download: Better Train Boarding on Steam Workshop.
43. Transit Vehicle Spawn Delay
Open a new bus line and the game sends every bus out of the depot at once, in one clump. Transit Vehicle Spawn Delay adds a configurable delay between spawns for buses, trolleybuses, trams, passenger helicopters and blimps, so vehicles leave spaced out along the route. Its page says it works with TM:PE and Advanced Vehicle Options, never touches the save file and can be removed at any time. It was updated on April 27, 2026, and is tagged compatible with version 1.21.1-f9. Creator: algernon and Chamëleon TBN. Download: Transit Vehicle Spawn Delay on Steam Workshop.
44. Commuter Destination
Commuter Destination shows where everyone waiting at a stop wants to go: open the public transport info view, select a line and click a stop, and icons mark each destination, bigger where more passengers are headed. It is the quickest way to see why a stop is overcrowded and where a new line should run. Its page lists support for Improved Public Transport 2 and Transport Lines Manager 14.4. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in October 2023. Creator: jkm. Download: Commuter Destination on Steam Workshop.
45. Barges (Cargo Ferries)
Barges adds a new kind of cargo transport: vessels that work like cargo ships but use ferry paths and canals, even tiny ones, per its page. Place two or more barge harbors, connect them with ferry paths or canals, and barges spawn on their own; with Industries you can choose what each harbor stores. It needs barge vehicle and harbor assets, which its page links. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in March 2023. Creator: BloodyPenguin. Download: Barges (Cargo Ferries) on Steam Workshop.
46. More Vehicles Renewed
More Vehicles raises the game’s limits from 16,383 moving and 32,767 parked vehicles to 65,535 of each, and big cities hit the vanilla cap fast because buses, trains, service vehicles and parked cars all count toward it. The original has more than 400,000 lifetime subscribers; this renewed build fixes Race Day events freezing the simulation and race cars not moving under the higher limits, per its changelog. Its page warns that a city saved with it will not load once it is removed, so keep a backup. If you also run Real Time (entry 49), Real Time’s page says to use t1a2l’s Real Time 2.8 compatibility build of this mod instead. Creator: Madisonian. Download: More Vehicles Renewed on Steam Workshop.
Simulation and City Growth
These mods change how the city itself works, from how many people live in a building to how cims spend their day.
47. Realistic Population 2
In the base game a detached house can hold half a dozen families while a tower block holds a handful. Realistic Population 2 recalculates homes, jobs, consumption and tax by building size, so downtowns fill up and suburbs thin out. Its page warns that adding it to an existing city will shake up the balance. Its author confirmed in March 2026 that it works on 1.21 with no update needed. Creator: algernon. Download: Realistic Population 2 on Steam Workshop.
48. Lifecycle Rebalance Revisited
Lifecycle Rebalance Revisited overhauls aging, immigration and death. Children start school at six instead of at birth, lifespans and mortality become realistic, and the mod helps even out the infamous death waves, where a whole generation dies at once. Every option can be turned off separately. It is designed alongside Realistic Population 2 and was updated in August 2026. Creator: algernon. Download: Lifecycle Rebalance Revisited on Steam Workshop.
49. Real Time
Real Time gives cims schedules. They sleep at night, commute to work, eat at mealtimes and go out on weekends, and the in-game day runs at a realistic pace. That makes rush hour real, and it makes planning much harder. Version 2.8 added park types and school bus line support through Transport Lines Manager. Its page warns that 2.7 saves do not load back into 2.6, so keep a backup, and says that if you use More Vehicles you need the build matched to Real Time (see entry 46). Creator: t1a2l. Download: Real Time on Steam Workshop.
50. Transfer Manager CE
Transfer Manager CE replaces the system that matches every request in your city, such as a sick cim needing an ambulance or a bakery needing flour. The vanilla system is why garbage trucks cross the whole map to reach one building. This mod makes services and goods prefer nearby matches, which cuts traffic and service gaps. It was last updated on October 4, 2026. Creator: Sleepy. Download: Transfer Manager CE on Steam Workshop.
51. Ploppable RICO Revisited
Ploppable RICO Revisited lets you place residential, industrial, commercial and office buildings directly, like service buildings, instead of waiting for them to grow. It supports buildings larger than 4×4, so that realistic apartment tower or department store actually functions. It also includes Plop the Growables behavior, so that older mod is no longer needed. Creator: algernon. Download: Ploppable RICO Revisited on Steam Workshop.
52. Advanced Building Level Control
Advanced Building Level Control sets minimum and maximum building levels per district or per building, so your low-rise old town stays low-rise and your downtown can spawn at level five straight away. It can also force upgrades, prevent abandonment, and randomize a building’s appearance without changing its level. Pair it with Ploppable RICO Revisited to lock plopped buildings at a level. Creator: algernon. Download: Advanced Building Level Control on Steam Workshop.
53. Rebalanced Industries Revisited
The Industries DLC is known for flooding roads with half-empty trucks. Rebalanced Industries Revisited loads industrial vehicles more fully, rebalances extraction and processing, reworks worker counts, and cuts some warehouse costs, all to cut traffic from industrial zones. Version 1.0.3 added support for game version 1.21.1. It is only relevant if you own Industries. Creator: Mbyron26. Download: Rebalanced Industries Revisited on Steam Workshop.
54. Unlimited Outside Connections Revisited
The base game limits how many roads and railways can connect to the outside world. This mod removes that limit, which matters for bigger cities and custom maps. It revived BloodyPenguin’s original, which stopped working in the 1.15 update, and its author confirmed in March 2026 that it works on 1.21. Use it with 81 Tiles 2 to reach the map edge, with Network Anarchy set to default mode. Creator: algernon. Download: Unlimited Outside Connections Revisited on Steam Workshop.
55. Zoning Adjuster
Zoning Adjuster fixes zoning grids that misalign on 8m and 24m roads, lets you add or remove zoning on any road (including ones that never zone), toggles zoning on one side only, and sets zoning setbacks and maximum depth. Its page notes that it works alongside the one-sided zoning the base game added in 1.17 and goes further. Its author confirmed it works on 1.21. Creator: algernon. Download: Zoning Adjuster on Steam Workshop.
56. Building Control
Building Control is the modern replacement for Building Anarchy. It lets you place buildings on roads, water and slopes, choose the terrain surface under them, and choose whether the ground is flattened. Settings save per building, so two copies of the same model can behave differently. The 81 Tiles 2 page specifically recommends it over Building Anarchy, which it says can break saves over time. Creator: algernon. Download: Building Control on Steam Workshop.
57. Achieve It!
By default, enabling any mod turns off Steam achievements. Achieve It! turns them back on, shows whether achievements are available when a save loads, and lets you switch them off in-game without removing the mod. It has not been updated since 2023, but as of July 2026 it still works after the Race Day update. Creator: Keallu. Download: Achieve It! on Steam Workshop.
58. Play It!
Play It! controls the simulation side of the city’s atmosphere: a day and night cycle that runs independently of simulation speed (even with separate speeds for day and night), a game speed that can slow motion and animation below normal, and weather effects. Its page describes it as the replacement for the old Ultimate Eyecandy, working alongside Render It! (entry 91) and Theme Mixer 2.5 (entry 88). As of October 21, 2026, its page lists compatibility with version 1.17.0-f3, from May 2023. Creator: Keallu. Download: Play It! on Steam Workshop.
59. Parkify
Parkify lets you use your park buildings, Workshop parks included, as Park Life park modules, so they count toward a park district instead of sitting outside it. An option also converts some vanilla unique parks, such as Central Park and the Zoo, though its page notes they then lose their extra attractiveness boost. Campus districts need its companion Campus Parks mod. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in March 2023. Creator: BloodyPenguin. Download: Parkify on Steam Workshop.
City Services and Automation
These mods take the busywork out of running a city: clearing dead buildings, emptying full facilities, skipping utility networks and showing exactly what each building needs.
60. Bulldoze It!
Bulldoze It! automatically clears abandoned, burned-down, collapsed and flooded residential, commercial, industrial and office buildings, so dead lots rebuild without you hunting for them. You set how often it runs and how many buildings it clears each time, and you can protect historical buildings or skip the wait for disaster response units. It has more than a million lifetime subscribers. As of October 21, 2026, its page lists compatibility with version 1.17.0-f3, from May 2023. Creator: Keallu. Download: Bulldoze It! on Steam Workshop.
61. Empty It!
Empty It! automates emptying for warehouses, landfill sites, waste transfer facilities, cemeteries and snow dumps: set the fill level that starts emptying and the level that stops it, and the mod checks on its own schedule. No more clicking full landfills one by one. Its page says it does not patch the game or alter saves, so it can be removed safely at any time. As of October 21, 2026, its page lists compatibility with version 1.17.0-f3. Creator: Keallu. Download: Empty It! on Steam Workshop.
62. Remove Need For Power Lines
Remove Need For Power Lines does what it says: power plants feed a shared buffer that supplies every building, so you never string another pylon across your skyline. It has more than 800,000 lifetime subscribers, and its creator’s companion mod, Remove Need For Pipes (entry 63), does the same for water. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in December 2022. Creator: Overhatted. Download: Remove Need For Power Lines on Steam Workshop.
63. Remove Need For Pipes
Remove Need For Pipes stores the water, sewage and heating your facilities produce in separate buffers and hands them to every building that needs them, so you can skip the pipe network. Its page notes that each water facility still needs at least one pipe connected, and it lists the mod as incompatible with 81 Tiles 2 (entry 5). As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in December 2022. Creator: Overhatted. Download: Remove Need For Pipes on Steam Workshop.
64. Pollution Solution
Pollution Solution switches noise, ground and water pollution on or off, each on its own, live while the city runs. Turning ground or water pollution back on takes time to build up again, its page explains. Game Anarchy (entry 67) includes the same switches, so pick one of the two. It was last updated on August 22, 2026. Creator: Shadow Link. Download: Pollution Solution on Steam Workshop.
65. Watch It! Revisited
Watch It! Revisited shows how close your city is to its limits for each service as a percentage, plus a warning panel that lists every building and network with a problem and takes you straight to it. It continues Keallu’s original Watch It!, and its creator has since released Watch It! 2 as a successor with new features. It was updated in May 2026 and is tagged compatible with version 1.21.1-f9. Creator: Nickayz. Download: Watch It! Revisited on Steam Workshop.
66. Show It!
Click any zoned building with Show It! enabled and an extra panel shows up to 16 indicators of how well it is served and what is stopping it from leveling up, such as noise pollution or the risk of abandonment. Only the indicators that matter for that building type appear. Its page says it does not patch the game or alter saves. As of October 21, 2026, its page lists compatibility with version 1.17.0-f3. Creator: Keallu. Download: Show It! on Steam Workshop.
Sandbox, Unlocks and Multiplayer
For players who build for the joy of it: unlocks, unlimited landmarks, no abandonment, money and pollution switches, and a way to build a city with friends.
67. Game Anarchy
Game Anarchy is an all-in-one sandbox toolkit: unlimited unique buildings, unlock-all and custom milestone unlocks, money controls, adjustable oil and ore depletion, a RICO income multiplier, refunds when bulldozing, and switches for pollution, death, garbage, crime and fire, plus extras like a fast exit to desktop. Its page says version 1.3.1 was updated for game version 1.21.1. It lists Achieve It! (entry 57), Not So Unique Buildings, Pollution Solution and Unlock All + Wonders and Landmarks as incompatible because it already does what they do, so use it instead of those, not with them. Creator: Mbyron26. Download: Game Anarchy on Steam Workshop.
68. All 25 Areas Purchasable
The base game lets you buy 9 of the 25 map tiles. With All 25 Areas Purchasable, the final milestone unlocks the rest, while milestones 1 to 12 stay unchanged. With more than 2.8 million lifetime subscribers, it is the simple middle ground for players who want a bigger city without going to 81 Tiles 2 (entry 5). Its page notes it must be recompiled for each game update and may be flagged incompatible until it is; as of October 21, 2026, it was last updated in May 2025. Creator: tomdotio. Download: All 25 Areas Purchasable on Steam Workshop.
69. Unlock All + Wonders and Landmarks Revisited
This mod goes further than the game’s built-in Unlock All mod: it also unlocks every wonder, landmark and unique building from the start, including DLC ones you own, which you pick in its options. It revisits BloodyPenguin’s original, which has more than 1.3 million lifetime subscribers, and is tagged compatible with version 1.21.1-f7. Its page notes that unique building unlocks carry across saves until you reset them in the game’s options, and that it does not work with Game Anarchy (entry 67). Creator: t1a2l. Download: Unlock All + Wonders and Landmarks Revisited on Steam Workshop.
70. Not So Unique Buildings
Not So Unique Buildings lets you plop unique buildings and wonders as many times as you like. It does not unlock anything by itself, so pair it with an unlock mod, and it needs Harmony. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in May 2021 and is tagged for version 1.13.3, and Game Anarchy (entry 67) includes the same function if you would rather run one mod. Creator: BloodyPenguin. Download: Not So Unique Buildings on Steam Workshop.
71. No Abandonment
No Abandonment stops buildings from being abandoned, for players who want a sandbox where a carefully detailed block never empties out. Buildings that are already abandoned stay that way, so pair it with Bulldoze It! (entry 60) to clear them. It has more than 800,000 lifetime subscribers. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in May 2019 and is tagged for version 1.12.0, so back up your save before adding it. Creator: Tai. Download: No Abandonment on Steam Workshop.
72. Cities: Skylines Multiplayer (CSM)
CSM adds client-server multiplayer to Cities: Skylines, so you and your friends can build the same city together. This is the mod’s official Workshop listing, and its page says most features are synchronized except cims and vehicles, with the full list of supported features and known issues kept on the team’s GitHub. It was updated on March 21, 2026, after the Race Day patch. Creator: kaenganxt and xylisn. Download: Cities: Skylines Multiplayer (CSM) on Steam Workshop.
Detailing and Landscaping
Detailing is where Cities: Skylines turns into a builder’s game, the same creative side we cover in our Sims 4 house building tips. These are the modern, stable tools for it, plus the placement tools that make detailing faster.
73. Prop Control
Prop Control is the lightweight, stable replacement for Prop Anarchy and the Extended Managers Library, which algernon has described in the Line Tool comments as permanently broken. It adds prop anarchy, snapping to buildings, precise positioning so fences finally line up, prop scaling, and a fix for large decals. Its author confirmed in March 2026 that it works on 1.21. Creator: algernon. Download: Prop Control on Steam Workshop.
74. Tree Control
Tree Control is the tree side of Prop Control. It offers tree anarchy, snapping, scaling, random rotation, sway control, and an optional expanded tree limit that raises the default 262,144 to over 2 million. It also has an optional tree LOD fix for sharper distant forests. Its author confirmed in March 2026 that it works on 1.21. As with any limit-raising mod, keep a backup before enabling the expanded limit. Creator: algernon. Download: Tree Control on Steam Workshop.
75. Line Tool
Line Tool places props, trees and even buildings along a line, road-tool style, with custom spacing and rotation, plus a fence mode for continuous rows. It is the modern replacement for Prop Line Tool. Its author confirmed in March 2026 that it works on 1.21. It is designed for use with Prop Control and Tree Control. Creator: algernon. Download: Line Tool on Steam Workshop.
76. Extra Landscaping Tools Revisited
Extra Landscaping Tools brings map editor tools into normal play: placing ore, oil and fertile land, a configurable tree brush, a water tool, and undoable terraforming. This bug-fix build of BloodyPenguin’s original was made because its author kept getting errors with that version after the expansion. It is new and small, so treat it as a fix, not a rewrite. Creator: Sleepy. Download: Extra Landscaping Tools Revisited on Steam Workshop.
77. Repaint
Repaint lets you change the colors of buildings live in-game, and with a hotkey it also colors roads, paths and railways that support it. It is a fork of TPB’s Painter, updated for Harmony 2 and fully compatible with old Painter saves. It also has an option to replace vanilla highway textures with more color-friendly ones. Its author confirmed in March 2026 that it works on 1.21. Creator: algernon. Download: Repaint on Steam Workshop.
78. Hide It!
Hide It! bundles more than ten old single-purpose mods into one: hide pollution ground colors, decoration sprites, dirt under trees and props, specific buttons and effects, and more, all picked from its options menu. It never changes save files, so you can remove it any time. It was last updated in 2023, before the Race Day patch. Creator: Keallu. Download: Hide It! on Steam Workshop.
79. Surface Painter
Surface Painter paints the game’s own decorative surfaces (pavement, gravel, field and ruined ground) straight onto terrain, so you can detail plazas and lots without cluttering the menus with filler assets. Left-click paints, right-click erases, and holding Shift avoids painting under buildings, trees and roads. It is a plugin for Extra Landscaping Tools (entry 76) and needs it enabled; its page was written for BloodyPenguin’s original, and neither page says whether the Revisited build works with it. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in March 2023. Creator: BloodyPenguin. Download: Surface Painter on Steam Workshop.
80. Procedural Objects
Procedural Objects is the detailer’s sculpting tool: it turns any prop or building into an object you can edit vertex by vertex, scale, retexture, rotate in any direction and add text to, right in the game. That is how players make custom signs, ramps, roofs and surfaces no asset provides. Its page says unsubscribing does not break saves; the objects simply disappear. As of October 21, 2026, its page lists compatibility with version 1.14.5-f1, from 2022. Creator: Simon Ryr. Download: Procedural Objects on Steam Workshop.
81. BOB, the Tree and Prop Replacer
BOB swaps, hides, moves or rotates the trees and props inside buildings and networks, and can replace every copy of a map tree or prop at once, so ugly default street lamps or a building’s wrong-climate palm trees go in a few clicks. It can also add new props to buildings and networks and resize power lines and catenaries to realistic proportions. Its page notes that map tree and prop replacements stay in your save even if you remove the mod. It was updated on March 10, 2026, and is tagged compatible with version 1.21.1. Creator: algernon. Download: BOB, the Tree and Prop Replacer on Steam Workshop.
82. Forest Brush Revisited
Forest Brush paints forests, grasslands, gardens or patches of plants with a configurable brush instead of one tree at a time; hold Ctrl to rotate the brush and Alt to resize it. This revisited version fixed the original’s disappearing brush after the Plazas and Promenades update, and its page says you must unsubscribe from TPB’s original first. It has more than a million lifetime subscribers and was last updated in May 2026. Creator: Sleepy. Download: Forest Brush Revisited on Steam Workshop.
83. Ploppable Asphalt+ Renewed
Ploppable Asphalt+ lets surface props use road shaders, so you can plop asphalt, pavement, grass, gravel, cliff and sand surfaces whose color matches your roads, set with sliders. This renewed version merges the original (more than 900,000 lifetime subscribers) with its loading-time fix, imports your old settings, and moves the surface props into separate asset packs linked from its page. Its page recommends Prop Control (entry 73) for placing them on roads. Creator: Madisonian. Download: Ploppable Asphalt+ Renewed on Steam Workshop.
![Parking Lot Snapping mod for Cities Skylines by [SSU]yenyang](https://howtovideogame.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cities-skylines-best-mods-92.webp)
84. Parking Lot Snapping
Parking Lot Snapping makes parking space assets snap onto parking lot road networks without anarchy, and once the first space sits on a straight road, the next one locks in beside it. Its page adds quality-of-life fixes such as spaces that do not flood or collapse, and it needs the Parking Lot Roads assets and Harmony. It was updated on March 10, 2026. If parking lots are your favorite thing to detail, Car Park Capital, a tycoon game about car dependency that we reviewed, is built around them. Creator: [SSU]yenyang. Download: Parking Lot Snapping on Steam Workshop.
85. Image Overlay Renewal
Image Overlay Renewal lays an image, such as a satellite photo or a street map, over your terrain so you can trace a real city’s roads and shoreline. Save a PNG (its page recommends under 15,000 by 15,000 pixels) in the game’s Files folder and press Ctrl+I. Its latest update, version 1.11 on October 20, 2026, made image loading manual, added a preserve-aspect-ratio option and brought it to the Asset Editor, and it is tagged compatible with version 1.21.1-f9. Creator: Mbyron26. Download: Image Overlay Renewal on Steam Workshop.
86. Undo It!
Undo It! adds undo and redo for building and bulldozing roads, buildings, props and trees, and it can undo actions from mods that lack their own undo, such as Forest Brush and Parallel Road Tool. Its page warns not to use it for building relocation or Move It actions, which have their own Ctrl+Z, and notes it rebuilds roads but not the bus stops on them. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in January 2022, so test it on a backup save first. Creator: Strad. Download: Undo It! on Steam Workshop.
87. Picker
Picker is an eyedropper for your city: press T and click any object to open its build menu with it selected, ready to place again, or Ctrl+click to place more copies without opening any menu. Version 4.0 added a list of recently built objects. It works with Find It! 2 (entry 8), Move It and Network Anarchy, matching a picked road’s elevation mode. As of October 21, 2026, its page lists compatibility with version 1.17, from May 2023. Creator: Quboid. Download: Picker on Steam Workshop.
Visuals, Camera and Interface
These mods change how the city looks and how you look at it.
88. Theme Mixer 2.5
Theme Mixer 2.5 lets you customize map themes in-game, mixing parts of different themes and saving the result as a shareable Theme Mix. It is a revised Theme Mixer 2 with new icons and bug fixes. Its author said in the mod’s comments in March 2026 that it is working after the update. Creator: Nyoko. Download: Theme Mixer 2.5 on Steam Workshop.
89. Lumina
Lumina is the modern successor to Relight. It adds shadow intensity and bias controls, atmospheric tint, color effects and day and night cubemap selection, and it includes all of Relight’s LUTs, with shareable “Styles” presets. Its page says it rebuilds Relight’s features for the current game using Harmony 2 and warns you about conflicting mods instead of switching itself off. Comments are mixed on skybox and preset behavior since Race Day, so save a copy of your presets. Creator: Nyoko. Download: Lumina on Steam Workshop.
90. Relight
Relight is the older lighting mod that Lumina grew out of, and it is still one of the most subscribed visual mods. It adds sliders for brightness, gamma, contrast, and the tint of sun, sky and moon, plus seven LUTs, with Shift+Alt+L as the hotkey. Its own page points you to Lumina, and it has not been updated since 2018. It still works as of August 2026. Creator: Ronyx69. Download: Relight on Steam Workshop.
91. Render It!
Render It! is the post-processing mod: FXAA and TAA anti-aliasing, ambient occlusion, bloom, color grading, fog, and control of the sun, moon and ambient light colors, all saved in profiles. It combines the jobs of several older visual mods. It was last updated in 2023, before the Race Day patch. Creator: Keallu. Download: Render It! on Steam Workshop.
92. Toggle It!
Toggle It! puts common view switches on buttons and hotkeys: notification icons, road names, buildings, border and contour lines, zoning grids, district names and more. It also adds automatic info views and a Dark Info Views mode that tones down the bright default overlays. Its last update was in 2023, before the Race Day patch. Creator: Keallu. Download: Toggle It! on Steam Workshop.
93. First Person Camera: Continued
First Person Camera: Continued lets you follow any cim or vehicle in first person, or fly freely at street level, which is the best way to see whether your city actually feels real. It continues Asu’s First Person Camera v2, and its current version adds Race Day support, including following race cars and racers. Unsubscribe the testing version and the listed incompatible mods first. Creator: Will. Download: First Person Camera: Continued on Steam Workshop.
94. Clouds and Fog Toggler
Clouds and Fog Toggler removes the clouds and distance fog that hide your city when you zoom out, and can turn off industrial smog and edge fog separately. It is a tiny mod that makes big-picture planning much easier. It dates from 2016 and still works as of October 2026. Creator: BloodyPenguin. Download: Clouds and Fog Toggler on Steam Workshop.
95. Yet Another Toolbar
Yet Another Toolbar lets you resize the build menu, add more rows and columns, and scale panels, which you will want once hundreds of Workshop assets are crowding it. It was written to scale panels without breaking Find It! 2 and Ploppable RICO Revisited, and it never touches game mechanics or saves. Its last update was in December 2022, before the Race Day patch. Creator: sway. Download: Yet Another Toolbar on Steam Workshop.
96. Daylight Classic
Daylight Classic brings back the daylight color and fog from before the After Dark update, removing the yellow tint that its page says turns days into permanent evenings, along with bluish fog and over-saturation. Each change can be switched on or off, and it restores the classic LUTs so older color presets look right again. It has more than 1.9 million lifetime subscribers. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in March 2023. Creator: BloodyPenguin. Download: Daylight Classic on Steam Workshop.
97. ACME
ACME (A Camera Mod) covers almost everything a camera mod can do: no border limit, adjustable ground clearance and collisions, tilt and field of view controls, up to 22 stored camera positions, a camera that remembers where you were in each save, map dragging and zoom-to-cursor. Its page says it replaces Camera Positions Utility, which relies on an outdated modding method, and it works alongside First Person Camera: Continued (entry 93). It was last updated on August 29, 2026. Creator: algernon. Download: ACME on Steam Workshop.
98. Cinematic Camera Extended
Cinematic Camera Extended records camera positions as points on a path and flies smoothly between them, with easing, duration, delay and field of view set per point. A frame rate option keeps the simulation in step with each frame, so you can record smooth city videos on a modest PC and speed them up later, and paths can be saved and loaded. As of October 21, 2026, its page lists compatibility with version 1.10.0-f3, from 2018. Creator: SamsamTS. Download: Cinematic Camera Extended on Steam Workshop.
99. Dynamic Resolution
Dynamic Resolution renders the game at a higher or lower internal resolution than your screen, up to 500 percent. On a strong GPU that is supersampling, the sharpest anti-aliasing the game can get and ideal for screenshots; on an older GPU, rendering lower keeps the frame rate steady without blurring the interface. Its page warns it is broken on Mac. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in 2017, for version 1.9. Creator: Gradius Twin. Download: Dynamic Resolution on Steam Workshop.
100. Better Road Toolbar
Better Road Toolbar replaces the game’s three road tabs with up to seven sorted by width and lane count, adds tabs for pedestrian, rural, industrial, bus, trolleybus, tram, bike and monorail roads, and hides any tab that would be empty. Roads are sorted by their real properties instead of an arbitrary priority value, which matters once you subscribe to dozens of Workshop roads. As of October 21, 2026, its page was last updated in June 2023. Creator: Delta 5-1. Download: Better Road Toolbar on Steam Workshop.
How We Chose These Mods
We started from the most subscribed Cities: Skylines mods on the Steam Workshop and the tools the community treats as essentials, and checked the first 50 against their Workshop pages on September 21, 2026, through Steam’s own Workshop data. For the October 21, 2026 expansion, we ranked the Workshop’s mods by lifetime subscribers, took the most popular gameplay mods we had not yet listed, and rechecked all 100 pages the same day: every one is free, public and still downloadable. Where a classic broke and a maintained version replaced it, we listed the working version, like Prop Control instead of Prop Anarchy, Line Tool instead of Prop Line Tool, or Network Skins Continued, which the deprecated Network Skins page now points to. Popular mods whose pages predate the 2026 patches stay on the list anyway, because modders update for new patches all the time, and each of those entries says what its page supports as of October 21, 2026. That includes Metro Overhaul Mod, Undo It! and Game Anarchy, which we left out in September over reports that they were broken. We skipped asset packs, translated re-uploads and near-duplicates of mods already listed, and we only list a fork of someone else’s mod when the original stopped working or its creator points to it. It is the same standard we used for our 100 best Sims 4 mods and our Valheim mods picks.
Only subscribe through the Steam Workshop pages linked above. Re-upload sites and “mod pack” downloads are the most common way players end up with outdated or malicious files, and they also dodge Skyve’s compatibility checks. Watch for duplicate versions, too: many mods here have an old original and a newer “Revisited” or “Continued” copy on the Workshop, and running both is a common cause of broken saves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Cities: Skylines mods safe? Mods from the Steam Workshop are the safest option, and Skyve will flag broken or conflicting ones before you load a save. Back up your save before adding anything that raises a game limit, such as More PathUnits, More Vehicles Renewed or Tree Control’s expanded tree limit, because those saves will not load without the mod.
Why did my mods break after an update? Game patches change code that mods depend on, and Paradox warned that the March 2026 Race Day patch would “probably break many mods.” Run Skyve, unsubscribe (do not just disable) anything broken, and use the most recently updated version of each mod. Paradox also notes that the in-game “made for a previous version” icon is only advisory.
Do these mods work in Cities: Skylines II? No. Every mod here is for the original 2015 Cities: Skylines. Cities: Skylines II is a different game with its own mod platform, and Workshop mods for the first game will not load in it.
Can you use Cities: Skylines mods on console? No. Steam Workshop mods only work in the Steam version of the game on Windows, Mac and Linux. Some remasters have brought mods to consoles, as we covered in how mods work on The Witcher 3 Remastered, but the console editions of Cities: Skylines do not support Workshop mods.
Are these mods free? Yes. Every mod on this list is free on the Steam Workshop. The expansions and content packs some mods support are paid DLC, and if you buy one that clashes with your setup, our guide on how to refund games on Steam explains your options.
What should I do if a mod on this list stops working? Check its Workshop page and run Skyve first. Several entries here are popular classics whose pages predate the latest patch, and big updates are when modders post fixes or maintained versions. If a mod breaks your city, unsubscribe from it rather than just disabling it, and load the backup you made before adding it.
Can you play Cities: Skylines in multiplayer? Not in the base game, but the Cities: Skylines Multiplayer (CSM) mod on this list adds client-server multiplayer. Its page says most features are synchronized except cims and vehicles.