Cities: Skylines needs an Intel Core i7 930 or AMD FX 6350, 8 GB of RAM, and a GTS 450 or R7 250 class GPU on the minimum tier. The recommended tier calls for an i7 2700K or Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB of RAM, and a GTX 580 or RX 560. This is one of the more accessible city builders on PC, which is part of why it has stayed popular for a decade.
Here are the Cities: Skylines System Requirements (Minimum)
- CPU: Intel Core i7 930 | AMD FX 6350
- RAM: 8 GB
- Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 (1 GB) | AMD R7 250 (2 GB) | Intel Iris Xe G7 (Tiger Lake)
- Dedicated Video RAM: 1024 MB
- Pixel Shader: 5.0
- Vertex Shader: 5.0
- OS: Windows 7 64 Bit | Windows 8.1 64 Bit | Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
- Free Disk Space: 4 GB
Cities: Skylines Recommended Requirements
- CPU: Intel Core i7 2700K | AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
- RAM: 16 GB
- Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 (1.5 GB) | AMD Radeon RX 560 (4 GB)
- Dedicated Video RAM: 1536 MB
- Pixel Shader: 5.0
- Vertex Shader: 5.0
- OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
- Free Disk Space: 4 GB
Minimum vs Recommended At a Glance
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 930 | AMD FX 6350 | Intel Core i7 2700K | Ryzen 7 2700X |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | GTS 450 (1 GB) | R7 250 (2 GB) | GTX 580 (1.5 GB) | RX 560 (4 GB) |
| VRAM | 1024 MB | 1536 MB |
| OS | Windows 7 | 8.1 | 10 | Windows 10 |
| Disk Space | 4 GB | 4 GB |
Can My PC Run Cities: Skylines?
Your PC can run Cities: Skylines at the minimum level with an aging i7 930 or FX 6350, 8 GB of RAM, and a GTS 450 or R7 250, since this is a decade old title with modest baseline requirements by today’s standards. For the recommended experience, especially once you start building larger cities with heavier traffic simulation and more mods, aim for an i7 2700K or Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB of RAM, and a GTX 580 or RX 560 class GPU. Most modern budget and mid range PCs from the last several years will clear the recommended tier comfortably.
Who Cities: Skylines Is For
Cities: Skylines is built for players who want a deep, mod friendly city building experience without needing a high end gaming rig to enjoy it. It suits simulation fans who value a mature, well supported game with a decade of content, expansions, and community made assets behind it, and it is a strong entry point for players new to the genre since the hardware bar is low.
It is a weaker fit for players chasing cutting edge visuals or the most granular citizen level simulation, since those upgrades are what its sequel focused on. The original has held up as a critically acclaimed, genre defining city builder over the past decade, with a large and active player base still running it today. See Metacritic’s Cities: Skylines page for the current aggregate score.
Get Cities: Skylines For Less
If you want to try Cities: Skylines without paying full price, check out our guide on how to get Cities: Skylines free, which covers giveaway history, free weekend availability, and discounted key options.
More PC System Requirements Guides
- Valheim System Requirements (central guide) – our master hub covering system requirements across every game we’ve tested
- Cities: Skylines II System Requirements PC (cluster hub) – the sequel’s minimum and recommended specs
- Manor Lords System Requirements PC – specs for the medieval city building strategy game
- Anno 117: Pax Romana System Requirements PC – specs for the Roman era city building strategy game
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord System Requirements – specs for the medieval sandbox strategy RPG
- Kerbal Space Program System Requirements PC – specs for the space flight simulation sandbox
- Planet Coaster System Requirements PC – specs for the theme park building simulator
- Football Manager 26 System Requirements PC – specs for the football management simulation
- Farming Simulator 25 System Requirements PC – specs for the agricultural simulation game
FAQ
What are the Cities: Skylines system requirements pc specs?
Cities: Skylines needs at least an Intel Core i7 930 or AMD FX 6350, 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTS 450 or Radeon R7 250 with 1 to 2 GB of VRAM on the minimum tier. For the recommended experience, you need an i7 2700K or Ryzen 7 2700X, 16 GB of RAM, and a GTX 580 or RX 560.
Can a laptop run Cities: Skylines?
Yes, most gaming laptops from the last several years meet or exceed the recommended specs for Cities: Skylines, since the original game’s hardware requirements are modest compared to more recent city builders.
Is Cities: Skylines still worth playing in 2026?
Yes, the original Cities: Skylines has a decade of expansions, mods, and community content, and its lower hardware requirements make it more accessible than its sequel for players without high end PCs.
Does Cities: Skylines require a lot of storage space?
No, Cities: Skylines only needs 4 GB of free disk space for the base game, which is significantly less than most modern city builders require.
