Cities XXL

Lore & Background

Cities XXL offers gameplay centered on zoning and transport. Players designate three types of building lots—residential, commercial, and industrial—each with adjustable density. Residential lots are further divided into four social classes: unskilled workers, skilled workers, executives, and elites. Before designating lots, players must select which class may live there, and that choice is not modified by the simulation. Lots can be created by zoning an area or by plopping individual lots.

Transport options include a road network with various road types, angles, and curvatures, as well as bridges, tunnels, buses, trains, ferries, and subways. The game received generally unfavorable reviews on Metacritic, with criticism focused on a lack of new content and poor multithreading support, which had been a selling point.

Reader's Guide

Cities XXL is notable as a direct sequel to Cities XL Platinum, continuing the series' approach to city management with detailed zoning and social class mechanics. Its reception, however, was largely negative, with reviewers citing insufficient new content and disappointing multithreading performance—a feature that had been promoted as a key improvement. The game's transport system, including varied road types and multiple public transit options, represents a core element of its design. Despite its mixed critical reception, Cities XXL remains a part of the city-building genre's history, illustrating the challenges of iterating on an established franchise. The game's emphasis on player-controlled social class assignment, rather than simulation-driven class dynamics, distinguishes its zoning system from some other titles in the genre. Its legacy is tied to the broader Cities XL series and the expectations set by its predecessor.