How to Fix Cities: Skylines Crashing issue [2024 Tips]

Many gamers are still enjoying Cities: Skylines in 2021. Some would experience random crashes or crash at loading screen issue, which can be really annoying. The good new is, there are some known fixes available. Read on and find out what they are…

Try these fixes…

You don’t have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick!

1: Turn off unnecessary programs

2: Verify the integrity of your game files

3: Update your graphics driver

4: Disable DLC

5: Disable mods/assets at startup

6: Reinstall Cities: Skylines

Before we dive into anything advanced…

1: Try to restart your PC then relaunch Cities: Skylines.

2: You want to make sure your PC meets the minimum requirements for the game.

For a smoother gaming experience, check out the recommended PC specifications for this game:

Fix 1: Turn off unnecessary programs

If Cities: Skylines constantly crashes, first you want to rule out the possibility that some background app is interfering with the game, or the background apps are taking up too many resources. You don’t want excessive programs running in the background while you’re playing the game. Here’s what you can do:

1. Right-click your taskbar, then click Task Manager.
   
2. Under the Processes tab, look for the processes that are CPU and memory-hogging. Take Chrome here, for example, right-click it then click End task.
   
3. Repeat Step 2 above to close the background programs one by one, then test the crashing issue. If you’re able to play the game smoothly after closing a certain app, then you know this app is the problem.
   
   Make sure you don’t run Cities: Skylines and the problem app at the same time, then the game should be running without any crashes.

If you don’t find a program that seems to cause the crashing issue, or Cities: Skylines still crashes after you turn off the unnecessary programs, try the next fix.

Fix 2: Verify the integrity of your game files

One of the reasons that Cities: Skylines crashes, is missing or corrupt game files. You can verify the integrity of the game files for it to run properly:

On Steam:

1. Find Cities: Skylines in your library, right-click the game icon then click Properties.
   
2. Under the LOCAL FILES tab, click Verify integrity of game files.
   
3. Steam will scan your game files, and add or replace any missing or damaged files to your game folder.

On Epic Games Launcher:

1. Go to your library and find Cities: Skylines, and click on the three-dot icon next to the game title.
2. In the drop-down menu, click Verify.
3. It will take some time for Epic Games Launcher to scan your game files, depending on the size.

Once complete, relaunch Cities: Skylines and test if it still crashes.

If verifying the integrity of your game files doesn’t solve your problem, move on to the next fix.

Fix 3: Update your graphics driver

An outdated or faulty graphics driver is a common reason for game crashing issues. You may want to update your graphics card driver, to make sure it’s functioning properly.

One way to keep your graphics driver up-to-date is to manually update it via Device Manager. If Windows suggests your driver is up-to-date, you can still check if there’s a newer version and update it in Device Manager. Go to the manufacturer’s website, and search for the latest correct driver. Be sure to choose only drivers that are compatible with your Windows version.

• NVIDIA
• INTEL
• AMD
• Asus

Automatic driver update – If you don’t have the time, patience, or computer skills to update your driver manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct driver for your exact video card and your Windows version, then it will download and install it correctly:

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
3. Click the Update button next to the flagged graphics card driver to automatically download the correct version of the driver, then you can manually install it (you can do this with the FREE version).
   
   Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version which comes with full support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
   

Restart your PC for the new driver to take effect. If updating graphics driver doesn’t solve your problem, try the next fix.

Fix 4: Disable DLC

The developers of Cities: Skylines have been releasing new DLC content every year, and this year we get 4 new DLC packs. DLC surely has added much fun to this game, but they can cause random crashes sometimes.

Try disabling DLC content then relaunch the game to test the issue. If you use Steam, you should find the DLC section on your game page, then you can uncheck the boxes of the DLC packs. Or right-lick Cities: Skylines and select Properties in the pop-out menu, then navigate to the DLC tab to disable DLC content.

If your game doesn’t crash anymore after you disable a certain DLC pack, then you know this is the problem. Contact the developers for assistance.

If disabling DLC doesn’t solve your problem, try the next fix.

Fix 5: Disable mods/assets at startup

If you can launch Cities: Skylines but it would crash at startup or get stuck at the loading screen, you may want to check for your mods and assets. Here’s how:

1. Launch Steam and go to your library.
2. Right-click Cities: Skylines and select Properties.
   
3. Under the GENERAL tab, find LAUNCH OPTIONS and paste in –noWorkshop.
   
4. Relaunch Cities: Skylines.

If this solves your problem and your game runs smoothly, then some of the mods and assets could be causing the crashing issue. You can re-enable the mods and assets in groups to test the issue, until you find the problem one(s).

Bonus tips:

1. You can check out this document for broken and incompatible mods (thanks to AquilaSol on Steam!) so you don’t have to manually go through all the mods and assets. Note that the list may not be complete.
2. If you’ve subscribed to a lot of mods and assets, you may subscribe to the Mod Compatibility Checker. This tool detects mod incompatibilities so you don’t have to manually check through all of them.
3. Also, you can try to install the Loading Screen mod, which is said to help reduce RAM usage and thus increase the stability of the game.

If this doesn’t solve your problem, try the last fix.

Fix 6: Reinstall Cities: Skylines

Reinstalling the whole game can be frustrating, but some players have found it solves the crashing problem. So it’s definitely worth trying.

To Reinstall Cities: Skylines:

1. In your Steam library, right-click Cities: Skylines, select Manage then click Uninstall.
2. Once the game is removed from your PC, restart the Steam client.
3. Go to your library, find Cities: Skylines.
4. Right-click on the game icon then click Install.

Once the installation is complete, launch the game and test if your problem persists.

Hopefully this article solves your problem and now you can play Cities: Skylines without any crashes! Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions.

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