This page is for the 2013 game. For the first game, see SimCity (1989).
- The game doesn't work out of the box as of 2025 and requires workaround
Warnings
- RenderWare games may not work on Windows 11 24H2 or later without using a DirectSound wrapper (see the engine page for details).
SimCity (2013) is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view building and simulation game in the SimCity series.
Originally released with an always-online requirement, update 10 removed the always-online requirement, allowing the game to be played offline with cities separated for online and offline.
The game no longer receives any fixes nor updates as of 2018, thus there are several bugs that may be unfixed.
General information
- Official franchise forums
- Simtropolis - Bugs & Technical Issues
- Simtropolis - General Discussion
Availability
- All Windows versions require EA app DRM.
- For macOS, the Mac App Store version are 64-bit. While the Origin version is 32-bit.
- Online DRM was removed on March 18, 2014.[2]
Version differences
- The Mac App Store version includes DLC but does not support online multiplayer.
- The Complete Edition includes the base game and all paid DLC.
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
| Name |
Notes |
|
| Cities of Tomorrow |
|
|
| Digital Deluxe Upgrade Pack |
Changes the base game edition to Digital Deluxe. Includes Heroes and Villains Set and the French, German and British City Sets.[3] |
|
| Airships Set |
|
|
| Amusement Park Set |
|
|
| British City Set |
|
|
| French City Set |
|
|
| German City Set |
|
|
| PLAY |
Poland-exclusive free expansion that adds PLAY carrier store to the game |
|
| Telia |
Sweden-exclusive free expansion that adds Telia carrier store to the game |
|
| MediaMarkt |
Dutch-exclusive free expansion that adds MediaMarkt store to the game |
|
| Metro |
Dutch-exclusive free expansion that adds Metro building to the game |
|
| Micromania |
France-exclusive free expansion that adds Micromania store to the game |
|
| Attractions Set |
Free limited promotion with Crest and Oral-B products in the United States.[4] The promotion has ended.[5] |
|
| Progressive Insurance Set |
Free limited promotion for Progressive Insurance. The promotion has ended.[6] |
|
| The 100% Electric Nissan Leaf |
Free download from Origin to promote the Nissan Leaf.[7] |
|
| Heroes and Villains Set |
Exclusive to Limited Edition or Digital Deluxe.[8] |
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
| System |
Location |
| Windows |
|
| macOS (OS X) |
|
Save game data location
| System |
Location |
| Windows |
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\SimCity\Games\ |
| macOS (OS X) |
$HOME/Documents/SimCity/Games/ |
- Only offline mode cities are stored in this location; online mode cities are stored on the server.[9]
| System |
Native |
Notes |
| EA app |
|
|
| OneDrive |
|
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers. |
| Xbox Cloud |
|
|
Video
Input
Audio
| Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
| Separate volume controls |
|
|
| Surround sound |
|
|
| Subtitles |
|
No intelligible dialog. All in-game dialog uses the fictional Simlish language. |
| Closed captions |
|
|
| Mute on focus lost |
|
|
| Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
| Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
| English |
|
|
|
Speech is a fictional language called Simlish. |
| Traditional Chinese |
|
|
|
|
| Czech |
|
|
|
|
| Danish |
|
|
|
|
| Dutch |
|
|
|
|
| Finnish |
|
|
|
|
| French |
|
|
|
|
| German |
|
|
|
Speech bubbles instead of subtitles. |
| Hungarian |
|
|
|
|
| Italian |
|
|
|
|
| Japanese |
|
|
|
|
| Korean |
|
|
|
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| Norwegian |
|
|
|
|
| Polish |
|
|
|
Copies bought in Poland are region-locked to Polish, Hungarian and Russian. |
| Brazilian Portuguese |
|
|
|
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| Russian |
|
|
|
|
| Spanish |
|
|
|
Origin only lists Spanish for Digital Deluxe version. |
| Swedish |
|
|
|
|
Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Issues unresolved
Vertical line on right edge of screen
- Line appears on right edge, even when windowed.[11]
Issues fixed
Textures not loading
Textures not loading issue
|
Reinstall the game or verifying game files integrity.[12]
|
Video freezes after a few seconds but audio keeps playing on Intel Iris Xe
|
Download DXVK and place 32-bit d3d9.dll in the same folder as Simcity.exe[13]
|
"Your network seems to be disconnected" error message pops up when trying to download updates
- On Origin, updates downloaded normally, but the new EA app broke the launcher, requiring a workaround.
|
Run the game as administrator
|
Simcity.exe crashes/terminates before the launcher shows up
|
Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP on Windows 7[14]
|
- Click Start, and then click Network (click Start, type ncpa.cpl into the search box for Windows 7 or Vista, press ↵ Enter).
- Click on the Network and Sharing Center
- Click Manage Network Connections.
- Right click on the Local Area Connection select Properties.
- Select Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
- Click the Advanced button under the General tab.
- Click the WINS tab.
- Click Enable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP.
- Click OK and Exit the settings.
|
Checking for updates
- 'Checking for updates' is stuck when launching the game.
Data maps/region borders/snap points not showing
- Applies to computers that use AMD Catalyst Control Center with ATI graphics cards.
|
Set ATI 3D Settings to Default[16]
|
- Click Start, and then click All Programs (differs for each operating system), then click AMD Control Center
- Go to GAMING catagory and select 3D Application Settings
- Change all settings back to default (or make a separate profile for Simcity), specifically the anti aliasing settings.
- Run Simcity with the Catalyst settings on default to check that the problem has been solved. If not re-install the game and restart the computer.
|
Blue screen when starting SimCity with Crossfire enabled
- Applies to computers with AMD graphics cards in Crossfire.
|
Disable CrossfireX (AMD Catalyst)[citation needed]
|
|
Under the "Performance" section of the AMD Catalyst Control Center, in the AMD CrossfireX tab, select "Disable AMD CrossFireX"
|
|
Disable CrossfireX (RadeonPro)[citation needed]
|
- Download and install RadeonPro
- In RadeonPro, click "Add new profile". Navigate to and select SimCity executable (default C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\SimCity\SimCity\SimCity.exe)
- Select the profile in RadeonPro
- In the launcher tab of RadeonPro, configure launcher as Steam/Impulse/Origin
- In the tweaks tab of RadeonPro, under CrossfireX Tweaks, move the slider so that "Turn off CrossfireX" shows above it
- Play the game
|
Other information
Debug mode / Pop Fix
Mods
Mod guides
- Rudimentary modding guide by reddit user Plornt.
- To use, place
BagOfTrix.package into <path-to-game>\SimCityData.
- Remember to delete any pre-existing mods: DebugEnable.package~
- Features:
- Full Javascript Debug Console/Development Editor - Ctrl+⇧ Shift+E to use
- Un-fudged population numbers
- Expose debug UI
- Debug menus
- Roads outside of boundaries
- Game going on while in budget crisis.
- Included in this GitHub repository is an installer for Skyestorme's Skyepack 3.2 modpack.
Other information
API
| Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
| Direct3D |
9.0c |
|
| Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
| Windows |
|
|
|
| macOS (OS X) |
|
|
Support for 64-bit was added in December 2019. |
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
| Audio |
Wwise |
Confirmed by game credits |
System requirements
| Windows |
|
Minimum |
| Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista, 7 |
| Processor (CPU) |
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz |
| System memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
| Storage drive (HDD/SSD) |
12 GB |
| Video card (GPU) |
AMD Radeon HD 2600
Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX
Intel HD Graphics Family
256 MB of VRAM
DirectX 9.0c compatible
Shader model 3.0 support |
| Other |
Broadband Internet connection with at least 256Kb/s Down and 64Kb/s Up |
| macOS (OS X) |
|
Minimum[18] |
| Operating system (OS) |
10.8.5 |
| Processor (CPU) |
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz |
| System memory (RAM) |
4 GB |
| Storage drive (HDD/SSD) |
12 GB |
| Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 8800 series
AMD Radeon HD 2600 Pro
256 MB of VRAM |
| Other |
Broadband Internet connection with at least 256Kb/s Down and 64Kb/s Up |
- Intel GPUs are not officially supported on OS X.
References
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