City Masterplan Revealed: The Next-Gen Cities: Skylines Rival We’ve Been Waiting For

Let’s face it: the city-builder genre has been in a weird spot lately. Following the notoriously rocky launch and ongoing performance issues of Cities: Skylines 2, hardcore management fans have been starved for a truly next-gen experience. Enter City Masterplan.

Developed by 1:1 Studio, this newly revealed Unreal Engine 5 powerhouse is aiming directly at the hardcore PC gaming crowd, promising to deliver the hyper-realistic, uncompromising simulation that gamers have been begging for.

Built on Unreal Engine 5 for Absolute Realism

The biggest hook for City Masterplan is its complete dedication to 1:1 scale realism. Historically, most major city builders have relied on slightly compressed proportions or stylized, cartoonish aesthetics to save on performance overhead.

1:1 Studio is throwing that playbook out the window. By leveraging Unreal Engine 5—the same tech powering many of the most anticipated upcoming releases, the developers are focusing heavily on hyper-realistic lighting, dynamic weather conditions, and true-to-scale architecture. Buildings, roads, and vehicles are properly proportioned to real life, giving your metropolis an unmatched level of authenticity.

Ditching the Grid: Map Size and Core Mechanics

If you have ever spent hours fighting a restrictive grid-snapping tool just to lay down a simple highway off-ramp, City Masterplan is built specifically for you. Here is exactly what sets this new project apart from the current market leaders:

• Massive 24x24km Maps: You aren’t just managing a cramped downtown district. Players are given colossal environmental canvases to build sprawling, region-wide metropolises.
• Freeform Road Construction: Restrictive, grid-based road building is completely gone. You can lay out complex infrastructure exactly how you envision it.
• Advanced Procedural Generation: To prevent the massive map from feeling empty, the game utilizes advanced procedural generation tools, allowing players to quickly populate large-scale residential and commercial zones while maintaining a realistic aesthetic.
• Global Architectural Styles: You aren’t locked into one aesthetic. The engine supports everything from traditional, sprawling American grid layouts to highly dense, Chinese-style cities.

When Does City Masterplan Release?

Here is the hard truth: building a 1:1 scale, hyper-realistic city simulator takes a massive amount of time and resources. Currently, there is no official release date for City Masterplan.

Given the massive, ambitious scope of the project and the relatively small size of 1:1 Studio, players should not expect to get their hands on a playable build much before 2027. While you wait, be sure to check out our latest RPG guides to keep you busy. However, with the current state of the genre, a game that takes its time to finally deliver a polished, true-to-scale alternative to Cities: Skylines looks well worth the wait.