Cities: Skylines: Concerts

The DLC titled Concerts for Cities: Skylines was developed by Colossal Order Ltd. and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released in August 2017. This expansion introduced festival and concert-oriented content to the city-building simulation, allowing players to integrate large-scale events and entertainment districts into their cities.

In the Concerts DLC, players gain the ability to plan and stage major musical events, construct specialized festival grounds, and deploy buildings such as music clubs, fan-zones and media broadcast centres to support their operations. The content also added a dedicated music-focused radio station, offering tracks from artists across rock, EDM and pop/folk genres, designed to enhance the city’s audio atmosphere. Alongside the event-infrastructure, new city ordinances and budget options were introduced that allow mayors to promote concerts, manage advertising campaigns, security costs and band popularity.

Promotion for the Concerts DLC was managed through Paradox Interactive’s official platforms, including announcements and trailers highlighting the new entertainment-and-festival mechanics. Community forums and previews emphasised the novelty of hosting concerts in a city-builder scenario, and revealed the concept of merging music, event-management and urban planning. Marketing materials showcased visuals of festival grounds, music clubs and the energetic ambiance of nighttime entertainment districts.

Reception of the Concerts DLC was somewhat mixed. Many players appreciated the fresh thematic layer and the ability to diversify city design with entertainment zones, enjoying the new buildings and the radio station feature. However, others expressed frustration with some of the mechanics—particularly pointing to high ongoing costs for running concerts and the relatively limited gameplay depth beyond the event-buildings. Despite the criticisms, it was viewed by fans of the game’s social and aesthetic side as a worthwhile addition to Cities: Skylines.