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Everyone’s favorite detention center designer has been given a new outing in Prison Architect 2, proposed to be a bolder reimagining of the jail simulator arriving from Paradox Interactive. The Prison Architect 2 release date is currently up in the air, though, as there’s a fair bit to unpack about the new title and where it’s at right now in its journey to release.
The new prison management game looks to offer pretty much everything you need to smoothly run, manage, and improve a penitentiary. And the sequel will arrive in three dimensions, too.
Your part in the title on release? Consider prisoner needs and policies, balance the books, and perhaps earn or reinvest your profits. We’re going through everything you need to know about the Prison Architect 2 release window, price, trailers, gameplay, and more further down the page.
Prison Architect 2 Release Date
The release date is now unknown following multiple delays
Unfortunately, the Prison Architect 2 release date is as yet unknown. While the game was originally planned for a March 26, 2024 release, Paradox Interactive subsequently stated the title would be delayed due to memory performance issues.
A second release date of September 3, 2024, was then penciled in. However, an August 2 announcement on the Paradox Forum explained the title was now “indefinitely” delayed due to issues with performance and content.
While making it clear that the title hasn’t been canceled, the statement did not offer a new Prison Architect 2 release window.
Prison Architect 2 Pre-orders
Pre-orders have been pulled since the game’s recent delay
While Prison Architect 2 pre-orders were made available as part of official announcements, this is no longer the case. Pre-orders were available with bonus content, but the statement from Paradox Interactive on August 2 made it clear that this is no longer the case.
As stated in the announcement, preorders for all platforms will be refunded. Anyone who has preordered should contact the store they made the order with. Additionally, preorder items will be added to the base game. This applies to Prison Architect 2 Xbox and Prison Architect 2 PS5 purchases as well as PC.
Prison Architect 2 Price
Official pricing is yet to be announced for Prison Architect 2
No official Prison Architect 2 price is available. Although a press release from January 16 of this year suggested a $39.99 price across all platforms, pricing on live store pages has disappeared along with any sense of a planned release date. For example, on Steam, both the base game and Prison Architect 2 Warden’s Edition are now listed as available to be added to wishlists but not to buy.
It makes sense that Paradox and its platform partners would remove any pricing information while the game has no planned release date. Some third-party sites do seem to have pricing information, but we would strongly advise against engaging with them as the game isn’t currently available to purchase through official channels.
It is best to wait until an official Prison Architect 2 release date is available and pricing is available again on PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam stores.
Prison Architect 2 Platforms
Confirmed for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC
Prison Architect 2 platforms are slated to be the Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. These platforms are a big reduction from the original title’s availability, which saw Prison Architect available on Nintendo Switch, Linux, MacOS, iOS, and Android. There is no suggestion Prison Architect 2 will ever make it to those, and the sequel’s 3D nature may make that impossible on lower-powered platforms like mobile devices.
Prison Architect 2 Trailers
The announcement trailer has arrived, showing off the 3D gameplay
The sole Prison Architect 2 trailer is a smart nod to the shift from 2D to 3D focus for the sequel. The Announcement Trailer, which premiered on January 16, 2024, contains a cinematic-like 2D to 3D sequence where a 2D prison, its guards, inmates, and objects begin to transform in 3D.
As a 3D digital-like effect rolls through the prison, a now 3D inmate attempts to outrun it before ending up in a 3D prison cell. The trailer offers up examples of Prison Architect 2 gameplay, a glimpse of a prison ‘flare-up’, prison and facility location planning, and an isometric 3D overview no doubt familiar to Cities Skylines players.
Prison Architect 2 System Requirements
Only the minimum requirements have been listed so far
Like the game itself, the Prison Architect 2 system requirements appear incomplete. While the Steam page for the title does offer the minimum specifications, the recommended specs have yet to be confirmed.
The current minimum requirements are very modest, and most gaming PCs should meet the specs with ease:
| Component | Minimum Settings | Recommended Settings |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-6700K / AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | TBA |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon RX 480 | TBA |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4 | TBA |
| Storage | TBA | TBA |
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | TBA |
Latest Prison Architect 2 News
The game has been seemingly indefinitely delayed
Originally announced in January, the game was slated for a March 26 release before suffering memory performance issues. The latest Prison Architect 2 news is unfortunate, as the game, then scheduled for September 3, 2024, has been indefinitely delayed. The title’s pre-order options and Warden’s Edition have since become unavailable to purchase.
What is Prison Architect 2?
The sequel to the popular jailhouse sim Prison Architect in 3D
Prison Architect 2 is a prison simulator – or, technically, a prison management simulator. The game is designed for PC, Xbox Series X and S, and PS5 by Paradox Interactive, responsible for the Cities Skylines, Europa Universalis, and Crusader Kings series, among others.
It is a sequel to the original Prison Architect title, offering extended features and improvements over the first game. The most obvious of these is that Prison Architect will be rendered in 3D, shifting from the 2D approach of the first title, which Introversion Software, the original Prison Architect IP owners, released in 2015.
The Bottom Line
While Prison Architect 2 may have been delayed, what we’ve seen of the game is certainly promising. There’s a ton of potential for taking the series into 3D, and hopefully, it will be finally released later this year. Now a new developer is on board; things are looking hopeful for the hotly anticipated sim sequel.
