I’ll be blunt: the city-building genre had gone stale. For years, it felt like we were just getting shinier SimCity clones, with a few more DLCs and a handful of new disasters to micromanage. But 2025? It’s a renaissance. If you’ve been sleeping on city builders, this is the year to wake up. From historical epics to magical experiments, this year’s top 10 city builders aren’t just ticking boxes-they’re finally taking real risks. And I, for one, am ready to bulldoze my skepticism right along with my city’s abandoned strip malls.
Let’s be honest: for the last decade, “top city builder” lists have mostly been a Cities: Skylines love fest. Yes, it deserved it-especially after that SimCity 2013 fiasco left us all with trust issues. But now, the landscape is shifting. 2025 is stuffed with contenders new and old, all vying for your attention, your time, and—let’s not kid ourselves—your wallet. So, what actually makes this year’s class of city builders worth your time? Let me break it down, game by game, with a healthy dose of personal bias and a side of expert takes.
First off, Cities: Skylines 2 is still the king—but it’s no longer untouchable. The “Metropolitan Overhaul” update from April 2025 didn’t just improve performance (finally); it fundamentally changed how transit works in the game. Modular systems, smarter AI, fewer traffic jams—this is the kind of iterative tuning that separates a living, evolving sim from a once-great, now-bloated franchise. Sure, the DLC model still feels a bit greedy, but as Nick Pasta put it, this has become “the most complete urban planning tool ever made.” You can’t argue with that, even if you want to.
But here’s where things get spicy. Anno 117: Pax Romana is set to launch this fall, and it’s not messing around with its Roman theme. Instead of just slapping a toga on the usual tile-based city, Anno 117 is bringing a dynamic “Pax Romana” system that simulates cultural assimilation, infrastructure development, and—crucially—the political headaches of keeping the empire together. If you ever wanted a city builder that forces you to play both engineer and emperor, this is it. Honestly, it’s about damn time someone took historical sim management seriously without dumbing it down for the mass market.
And then you’ve got Nova Roma, the indie darling that’s quietly making waves with its “Senate Approval” mechanic. Unlike Anno’s top-down management style, Nova Roma ties your urban ambitions directly to the whims of a simulated Roman Senate. Want to build that decadent bathhouse? Better hope your political capital holds up. It’s the kind of design that forces players to think beyond resource bars, and honestly, it feels like a love letter to the best parts of Caesar III—minus the 90s jank. PC Gamer is calling it “Caesar meets spreadsheets in the best possible way,” and for once, I actually agree with the press hype.
Now, if you’re sick of reality, there’s Whiskerwood. This isn’t your dad’s city builder; it’s a magical woodland sim where you’re balancing arcane forces with urban growth. On paper, it sounds like a cutesy Stardew Valley knockoff, but in practice, the magical ecosystem adds a whole new resource management layer that actually matters. Negotiating with forest spirits is a hell of a lot more interesting than just managing unemployment rates.
Let’s not overlook Foundation, which still nails that organic medieval growth vibe without the gridlock of so many other sims. Modders adore it—12,000+ custom assets and counting—which keeps the experience fresh years after launch. Community-driven games like this are the backbone of the genre, and even if it’s not grabbing headlines, it’s quietly influencing everything from UI design to AI villager behavior in bigger-budget titles.
Of course, not every experiment is a winner. Prison Architect 2 went fully 3D this spring, and while the management tools are sharper, I can’t help but feel the series is trapped by its own premise (pun absolutely intended). The jump to 3D adds complexity, but it can’t quite shake the feeling that you’re just playing a slightly prettier spreadsheet. It’ll find its niche, but don’t expect it to become the next big thing.
Here’s the point: the genre is diversifying like never before. The audience isn’t just neckbeard min-maxers (guilty as charged); it’s grown up, with historical purists debating authenticity in Anno 117, magical escapists flocking to Whiskerwood, and VR enthusiasts eagerly awaiting the rumored headset support. There’s even talk of cloud-based city builders from Microsoft that could fundamentally change how we play—imagine collaborative city planning, but without the heartbreak of having your friend bulldoze your entire industrial district “by accident.”
Let’s not sugarcoat it, though. DLC bloat is a real problem—Cities: Skylines 2’s Ultimate Edition is a wallet-destroying $89.99, and that’s before the inevitable onslaught of expansion packs. Meanwhile, some early access games still feel half-baked (looking at you, Nova Roma beta bugs). But for the first time in years, I actually feel excited—not just for what’s here, but for where the genre is heading. Strong modding, deeper systems, and a willingness to get weird are exactly what city builders need in 2025 and beyond.
In short: if you love city builders, this is your golden age. If you’ve written them off as boring, give this year’s lineup a shot. The only real risk is you’ll lose a few hundred hours—and honestly, is there any better sign that a genre is thriving?
2025’s city builders finally break from the mold—Cities: Skylines 2 leads with technical excellence, Anno 117 and Nova Roma push historical depth, and oddballs like Whiskerwood prove there’s still room for surprise. The genre’s alive, weird, and (mostly) worth your time again.
What’s your top city builder pick for 2025? Are you sticking with the classics, or ready to try something offbeat? Drop your city-planning confessions (and your wildest urban disasters) in the comments below!