Skylines 2 Players May Have Been Infected by Malware

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 1, 2024 207 Views 6 Min Read
Skylines 2 Players May Have Been Infected by Malware

Key Takeaways

  • Publisher Paradox Interactive reveals popular Cities: Skylines 2 Traffic mod was updated with a malicious file.
  • Users who downloaded and played the mod between October 28 and 31 have been urged to secure their systems.
  • Paradox says the mod is now safe to use and has reached out to its creator to help them secure their account.



Cities: Skylines 2 publisher Paradox Interactive has issued a new statement after discovering that the game’s popular Traffic mod may have been updated with a malicious file on October 28. While Paradox says the mod should now be safe to use, the publisher has urged anybody who played Cities: Skylines 2 with the mod installed between October 28 and October 31 to secure their systems.

The Cities: Skylines series has always been popular with the modding community, and developer Colossal Order has never shied away from supporting mods in both Cities: Skylines and its 2023 sequel, Cities: Skylines 2. Some of the game’s most popular mods allow users to overhaul the game’s traffic, place props wherever they wish, and even expand beyond the game’s 25-tile limit with over triple the amount. Unfortunately, it looks like one of the sequel’s most popular mods may have been temporarily infected with malware.


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In a new statement on its official website, Paradox Interactive said there has been a “potential security issue that has affected the ‘Traffic’ mod for Cities: Skylines 2.” The publisher went on to state that on Monday, October 28, an “outside actor” pushed an update to the mod which included a new .dll file, something the studio says they believe was malicious. While Paradox says the current version, which was released on October 31 at 15:35 CET, is safe to download and use, the publisher urged anybody who had downloaded and played Cities: Skylines 2 with the mod to secure their system.


For players who have used the Traffic mod, Paradox says users should check their game files, specifically in the following location: %localappdata%low\Colossal Order\Cities Skylines II\.cache\Mods\mods_subscribed\ inside the folder 80095_13. If users do not see the 80095_13 folder, then they have not been affected by the potential malware. But for those who have, the studio says players should use an antivirus program to quarantine it and/or remove it from their system. To ensure other Cities: Skylines 2 mods have not been affected by the same issue, Paradox says it will be going through all files uploaded to ensure users can enjoy them safely and securely.


It is worth noting that the issue with the Traffic mod doesn’t appear to have come from the creator, as Paradox says it has contracted the modder and “discussed recommended steps to secure their account.” While the issue is not a direct fault of Paradox, it is the latest in a long line of problems for the publisher and for the popular city-building game. After launching to negative reviews back in 2023, Paradox announced it would be delaying the console release of Cities: Skylines 2 indefinitely due to technical issues. This comes alongside multiple other delays and cancelations at the studio, including an indefinite delay to Prison Architect 2 and the shocking cancelation of The Sims competitor, Life by You.

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