The next instalment of the city-building simulation series Cities XL is headed to PC this October, announced today by developer and publisher Focus Home Interactive.

Cities XL 2012, as it's imaginatively named, will boast new environments and 60 maps including a desert oasis, the Cayman Islands, and Utah's Lake Powell. "A much bigger variety" of building types is also promised, bringing the total number of unique structures over 1,000 to make your cities look extra-nifty.

Modding support will finally be made official in Cities XL 2012, after being unofficially enabled in previous games through tools hacked together by fans. "A special guide within the game to get players started" will be included; making mods for 2012 will hopefully require far less arcane knowledge.

Cities XL 2012 will be sold both as a standalone game, and as an upgrade to Cities XL 2011 "at a discount price." Considering the poor post-launch patch support 2011 has received, this move should help calm the natives.

Focus Home picked up the franchise after creator Monte Cristo shut down due to poor sales of Cities XL.