When it comes to the city-building simulation video game, Cities: Skylines is one of the best in class titles that did release back in 2015. Colossal Order and...
Subodh Gupta
Last updated on June 20, 2023
Subodh Gupta
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Subodh loves to write content whether it may be tech-related or other. After writing on tech blog for a year, he becomes passionate about it. He loves playing games and listening to music. Apart from blogging, he is addictive to the gaming PC builds and smartphone leaks.
When it comes to the city-building simulation video game, Cities: Skylines is one of the best in class titles that did release back in 2015. Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive have done a great job with this single-player game that allows players to engage in urban planning with zone controls, terrain developments, improving public services, transportation, and more. However, some players are facing Cities Skylines crashing when loading the map.
It’s worth mentioning that Cities Skylines crashes quite often on startup, which seems common these days on the PC. But while loading the map, several reports claim that the game starts crashing unexpectedly, which indicates conflicts with the recent patch update. Whereas some reports claim that issues with the hardware or software at your PC end become one of the possible reasons behind the crashing issue while loading maps. But there is nothing to worry about.
Luckily, a couple of possible workarounds mentioned below should come in handy. It’s worth mentioning to follow all methods individually until the problem gets fixed. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.
1. Check the System Requirements
You should check out the system requirements of the Cities Skylines game properly before going to any other workarounds. Sometimes issues with the compatibility can also trouble you a lot. We’ve already provided the system requirements of the Cities Skylines game below.
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260, 512 MB or ATI Radeon HD 5670, 512 MB (Does not support Intel Integrated Graphics Cards)
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 4 GB available space
Recommended Requirements:
OS: Microsoft Windows 7/8 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i5-3470, 3.20GHz or AMD FX-6300, 3.5Ghz
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660, 2 GB or AMD Radeon HD 7870, 2 GB (Does not support Intel Integrated Graphics Cards)
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 4 GB available space
2. Close Background Processes
Another thing you can do is simply close unnecessary background tasks on your PC to ensure there is no additional consumption of system resources happening in the background whatsoever. To clear out background tasks:
Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.
Click on the Processes tab > Select the task that you want to close.
Once selected, click on End Task.
Make sure to do the steps for each task individually.
Once done, restart your PC to change the effects immediately.
3. Update Cities Skylines
If in case, you haven’t updated your Cities Skylines game in the last couple of weeks or so, make sure to check for the latest available updates by following the steps below.
For Steam:
Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Click on Cities Skylines from the left pane.
It’ll automatically search for the available update.
If there is an update available, make sure to click on Update.
You might have to wait for a while until the update completes.
Once done, close the Steam client, and reboot your PC to apply changes.
For Epic Launcher:
Open the Epic Launcher client > Go to Library.
Search for Cities Skylines from the left pane.
Now, click on the three dots icon next to the game.
Ensure to check the auto-update option to get a new update installed automatically.
If there is an update available, the client will automatically install it.
Otherwise, you can manually click on Update.
Once done, reboot your PC to apply changes.
4. Verify and Repair the Game Files
You can also verify and repair the installed game files on the PC by following the steps below to ensure there is no issue with the game files. Sometimes corrupted or missing game files might trouble you a lot when launching.
For Steam:
Launch Steam > Click on Library.
Right-click on Cities Skylines from the list of installed games.
Now, click on Properties > Go to Local Files.
Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
You’ll have to wait for the process until it gets completed.
Once done, just restart your computer.
For Epic Games Launcher:
Open the Epic Games Launcher > Click on Cities Skylines in the library.
Click on the three dots icon next to the game.
Select the Manage option.
Now, click on the Verify option.
Confirm the task and wait for it to be complete.
Once done, reboot the PC to apply changes.
5. Check Updates for Graphics Card Drivers
Make sure to check for the graphics driver update on your PC by following the steps below. An outdated or missing graphics driver might come in handy to fix several graphical glitches whatsoever.
Press the Win+X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Click on Device Manager from the list.
Double-click on Display Adapters to expand it.
Right-click on the dedicated graphics card name that’s active.
Now, click on Update driver.
Choose Search automatically for drivers.
The system will automatically check for the available update.
An update will automatically download and install the latest version if available.
Once done, you should restart your PC to apply the changes.
If you can’t find any pending updates, head over to the official website of the respective graphics card brand below and search manually for the latest update. Do remember that you’ll always have to search for the latest driver version and specific for the model you’re using. If a new version is available for the graphics card, download the driver and install it on your PC. You can jump to the link below to do so:
As per some reports, the Cities Skylines devs are aware of this specific issue with the loading maps. But we should mention that developers do release a DLC (Downloadable Content) every year which includes more maps, features, some extended storylines, and more. However, the newly released DLCs might have bugs or stability issues that can trouble you a lot while launching the game or loading in-game content like maps.
So, it would be best if you tried disabling DLC content and then relaunching the Cities Skylines game to check whether the problem has been fixed. To do so:
Open the Steam client > Find out the DLC of Cities: Skylines game page.
Here you can uncheck the DLC pack boxes. [Or right-lick on Cities: Skylines > Select Properties in the pop-out menu > Navigate to the DLC tab to disable DLC content]
If the game doesn’t crash anymore while loading maps that means disabling the DLC did fix the issue and there was some issue with the DLC for sure. So, you can contact the developers and describe the specific issue in detail with the DLC to help them investigate. If in case, disabling DLC doesn’t solve your problem, try checking the next workaround.
7. Disable Game Mods or Assets
You can also try disabling the Cities Skylines game mods or assets that might reduce the game crashes in most scenarios.
Open Steam > Go to the Library tab.
Just right-click on Cities: Skylines > Click on Properties.
Click on GENERAL > Go to LAUNCH OPTIONS.
Now, copy and paste -noWorkshop.
Relaunch the game to check for crashes.
8. Perform a Clean Boot
Some of the apps and their services may start automatically while booting the system right away. In that case, those apps or services will definitely gonna use a lot of internet connection as well as system resources. If you’re also feeling the same, make sure to perform a clean boot on your computer to check for the issue. To do that:
Press the Win+R keys to open the Run dialog box.
Now, type msconfig and hit Enter to open System Configuration.
Go to the Services tab > Enable the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox.
Click on Disable all > Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
Now, go to the Startup tab > Click on Open Task Manager.
The Task Manager interface will open. Here go to the Startup tab.
Then click on the particular task which has a higher startup impact.
Once selected, click on Disable to turn them off from the startup process.
Do the same steps for each program that has a higher startup impact.
Once done, make sure to restart your computer to apply changes.
9. Uninstall and Reinstall Cities Skylines
Although uninstalling and reinstalling the whole game can be frustrating and might not be an option for everyone, there is nothing to do if the above methods didn’t come in handy. So, you can also try reinstalling the full game on the PC by following the steps below to ensure there is no issue with the installed game version or files.
Open Control Panel from the Start Menu.
Click on Uninstall a program > Right-click on Cities: Skylines.
Click on Uninstall > Wait for the game to get uninstalled.
Once done, reboot the PC, and then open the Steam or Epic Games Launcher.
Next, go to the client store, and reinstall the Cities: Skylines game. [Try installing on a different drive this time]
You’re done. Enjoy!
That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.
