City Game Studio News

Hello everyone!

This is the very first devlog of 2026!! Time really flies, doesn't it?
But hey, even though it's the holiday break, I'm still hard at work on City Game Studio, fixing bugs and adding new ones obviously!

[h3]This Week's Recap[/h3]
A change that should have been made ages ago: adding a new filter in the employee panel so you can display only employees who don't have an assigned studio. It's super handy, and it really improves the gaming experience!

On top of that, there's some balancing for your consoles. I've added a new tier for manufacturing cost reduction. If you reach 100 million units sold, production costs will be reduced by 50%, which is pretty awesome!

Moving on, it's mostly bug fixes, and fairly important ones at that. One concerns a Steam achievement that was unlocking at the wrong time - now fixed. Another concerns Game of the Year, or rather the awards. Basically, even if you won Game of the Year, you couldn't place any awards. This bug is fixed, sorry for not catching it sooner and thanks for reporting it!

Another bug, specific to Windows, concerns fullscreen mode. I had to recompile City Game Studio's engine to support non-exclusive fullscreen mode. I've run some tests, and it looks promising! Let me know on your end if everything's working well!

[h3]What's Coming[/h3]
I've started thinking about some useful changes. For example, when you receive an in-game notification mentioning a new game engine feature. It would be nice if that notification had a button that redirects you to the game engine screen. And since we're talking about game engines, it would be great to have a list of existing game engines (especially your competitors') on the right side of the screen so you can compare in real-time.

That's what's coming next week, but I have other little things planned. Like adding options for the banker, or reworking the difficulty settings to give you more control without having to use mods.

Anyway, I won't say more, thanks for reading!
See you next week!
Happy New Year and take care
Xavier aka Binogure

[p][/p]

[p]Default version of the game, we want to make sure to have a chance to discover bugs and adjust the balancing, to give you the best game experience possible.

Access the Unstable branch on Steam by right clicking City Game Studio in your Steam library, and then select ‘Properties’. In the new window, select ‘Betas’. The Unstable branch should now be available for you to choose from.

Please leave any feedback you may have in the appropriate channel in our Discord, or in the subforum on Steam.

As always, remember to be considerate towards players not partaking in the Unstable, in case they want to avoid spoilers.

Please make sure to make backups of your save files before playing.[/p]

[h2]Changelog - rc1[/h2]
[h3]Staff Panel[/h3]

• Added a new filter to display employees not assigned to any studio

[h3]Balancing[/h3]

• Added a new threshold for additional cost reduction on custom platform manufacturing

[h3]Bugfixes[/h3]

• Fixed fullscreen mode (Windows only)
  
• Digital store: Fixed an issue where updating the assigned studio for a digital store feature wouldn't update the in-development panel
  
• Fixed a rare crash when closing in-game messages
  
• Fixed achievement unlocking incorrectly when releasing games on competitor-made consoles instead of own consoles
  
• Fixed the progress bar for manufacturing cost reduction on released custom platforms not progressing correctly
  
• Fixed an issue preventing GOTY awards from being placed
  
• Added migration to update the count of GOTY awards won

[h2]Previously[/h2]
[h3]Rendering[/h3]

• Use higher resolution for platform sprites (1024px instead of 512px)

[h3]Platforms[/h3]

• Add the Steam Frame
  
• Balance the Nintendo Switch units sold
  
• Balance the PlayStation 5
  
• Balance the Xbox Series X
  
• Adjust the end of life of the first Steam Machine

[h3]Custom-platforms[/h3]

• Add a copy-protection parameter to avoid the 1983 market crash

[h3]Modding[/h3]

• Add a new parameter when creating a new difficulty (copy_protection_costs)
  
• Add a new parameter when adding a new platform (copy_protection)
  
• Add a new parameter when adding a new platform (backward_compatibility)
  
• Add a new parameter when editing an existing platform (backward_compatibility)

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• Add support for 3440 x 1440 resolution

Hello everyone!

We're back with a brand new iteration of City Game Studio, v1.26! And I've already got quite a few things lined up, including the overhaul of updates and DLCs (which I've been pushing back for a few months now). So here I'm going to tell you about the latest changes that are already available for those who want to try them out on Steam's unstable branch!

[h3]This Week's Recap[/h3]
I say this week's recap, but I've actually been working on this first release candidate for v1.26 for 2 weeks now. At first glance you wouldn't think there's much change and yet, if you take a closer look at the consoles, that's where you'll see the difference.

First off, a new console makes its appearance: the GabeCube. Yes, the name is a nod to Internet memes, since it's not the official name of the console, I took the liberty of borrowing it for City Game Studio!

And since I had my nose in the console data, I took the opportunity to adjust the sales figures for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and XBox Series X while adding an end-of-life date for the Steam Machine (December 2016 for the curious).

For v1.26 I wanted to revamp custom consoles so you can avoid the 1983 crash. Yes, there are players who make consoles as early as 1980, it's possible. But the problem is that your console would immediately suffer from the 1983 crash. So I added an option, when you create a console, it's copy protection. This is what allowed Nintendo to stand out from its competitors, notably with the Nintendo Seal of Quality. Not wanting any issues with Nintendo (you never know, right?), I shortened the concept to simply copy protection for games. Anyway, this option adjusts based on difficulty and allows you to make consoles that don't suffer from the 1983 crash!!

I've also slightly opened up the modmaker to allow you to manage the costs of this new feature in case you add a new difficulty level. But I've also added the ability to change console backwards compatibility via mods, which will let you be a bit more creative!

[h3]What's Coming Next[/h3]
In the coming days and weeks, I'm planning to work on the game's interface and add new filters for the employee panel. I'm also planning to add game engines that are already published when you create yours. This will obviously make your life easier. That'll be for next week.

After that we'll see, but it'll mainly be interface improvements first and foremost. Then I'll tackle the big one, revamping the save file interface to give you more freedom.

All these ideas come from you, so thank you so much for your help, and I hope the game reflects you a little more with each update!

Thank you for reading, see you next week,
Take care of yourselves!
Xavier aka Binogure

[p][/p]

[p]Default version of the game, we want to make sure to have a chance to discover bugs and adjust the balancing, to give you the best game experience possible.

Access the Unstable branch on Steam by right clicking City Game Studio in your Steam library, and then select ‘Properties’. In the new window, select ‘Betas’. The Unstable branch should now be available for you to choose from.

Please leave any feedback you may have in the appropriate channel in our Discord, or in the subforum on Steam.

As always, remember to be considerate towards players not partaking in the Unstable, in case they want to avoid spoilers.

Please make sure to make backups of your save files before playing.[/p]

[h2]Changelog - rc0[/h2]
[h3]Rendering[/h3]

• Use higher resolution for platform sprites (1024px instead of 512px)

[h3]Platforms[/h3]

• Add the Steam Frame
  
• Balance the Nintendo Switch units sold
  
• Balance the PlayStation 5
  
• Balance the Xbox Series X
  
• Adjust the end of life of the first Steam Machine

[h3]Custom-platforms[/h3]

• Add a copy-protection parameter to avoid the 1983 market crash

[h3]Modding[/h3]

• Add a new parameter when creating a new difficulty (copy_protection_costs)
  
• Add a new parameter when adding a new platform (copy_protection)
  
• Add a new parameter when adding a new platform (backward_compatibility)
  
• Add a new parameter when editing an existing platform (backward_compatibility)

[h3]Misc[/h3]

• Add support for 3440 x 1440 resolution

Hey everyone!

The holidays are here, and so are the Steam Winter Sales! And guess what? Version 1.25.0 just dropped right on time!

I won't lie, I'm pretty excited about this timing. You get a fresh update AND a huge discount. It's like Christmas came early (well, technically it's right on time, but you know what I mean).

[h3]The Winter Sale Deal[/h3]
From December 18th to January 5th, City Game Studio is 51% OFF! That's right, you can grab the game at its biggest discount yet. And if you're into the music (composed by the talented Conciliator), the soundtrack is also 51% OFF!

So if you've been waiting for the perfect moment to jump in, or if you want to gift it to a friend who keeps asking "what game should I play?", well... this is it!

[h3]What's New in v1.25.0[/h3]
I just shipped this update, and it's packed with improvements to Game of the Year awards, studio directors, and Options! I've been working hard to make these systems more engaging and rewarding. The GOTY system got a complete overhaul, and managing your studio director is now much smoother.

If you want all the details, check out the v1.25.0 changelog. Trust me, there's a lot to unpack!

[h3]Why Now is a Great Time to Start[/h3]
City Game Studio has come a long way since 2019. We're talking about 9+ years of development, quarterly major updates, and a game that keeps evolving based on YOUR feedback. The game is more polished, more feature-rich, and more fun than ever.

Whether you want to:

• Build a gaming empire from 1976 to present day
  
• Create your own game consoles and compete with the big players
  
• Manage multiple studios across the city
  
• Experience the full history of gaming with accurate console lifecycles
  
• Or just have a good time in sandbox mode

...City Game Studio has you covered. And now with 51% OFF, there's never been a better time to dive in!

[h3]What's Next?[/h3]
I'm already working on v1.26.0 (yeah, I don't stop). I've got some cool ideas brewing based on your recent feedback, and I can't wait to share them with you in a few months.

Also, City Game Studio 2 is making good progress. I wish I could show you more, but I want to make sure it's really solid before revealing too much!

[h3]Thank You![/h3]
Seriously, thank you all for your continued support. Every review you leave, every bug you report, every suggestion you make - it all helps make City Game Studio better. You're the reason this game keeps evolving and improving.

If you're already playing, I hope you enjoy the new v1.25.0 update. If you're new here, welcome to the world of game development simulation! Feel free to reach out if you have questions - I read everything!

Have an amazing holiday season, and happy gaming!

Xavier aka Binogure

P.S. If you grab the game during the sale, don't forget to leave a review! I read them all, positive and negative, and they really help me improve the game.