<s>
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
(	O
originally	O
Cities	B-Protocol
Unlimited	I-Protocol
)	O
is	O
a	O
city-building	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Monte	O
Cristo	O
as	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
their	O
earlier	O
title	O
City	B-Application
Life	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Focus	O
Home	O
Interactive	O
acquired	O
the	O
franchise	O
in	O
June	O
2010	O
and	O
released	O
Cities	B-Application
XL	I-Application
2011	I-Application
on	O
October	O
14	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
third	O
installment	O
,	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
Platinum	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
February	O
14	O
,	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
new	O
version	O
,	O
Cities	B-Application
XXL	I-Application
,	O
was	O
announced	O
on	O
November	O
15	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
and	O
released	O
on	O
February	O
5	O
,	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
allowed	O
players	O
an	O
option	O
to	O
play	O
on	O
a	O
persistent	B-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
virtual	I-Protocol
community	I-Protocol
known	O
as	O
a	O
planet	O
which	O
required	O
a	O
monthly	O
subscription	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
allows	O
players	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
road	O
network	O
of	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
road	O
types	O
at	O
many	O
different	O
angles	O
and	O
curvatures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
planned	O
that	O
when	O
a	O
player	O
was	O
managing	O
a	O
GEM	O
the	O
main	O
city	B-Application
simulation	I-Application
was	O
stopped	O
,	O
but	O
successful	O
management	O
of	O
GEMs	O
could	O
help	O
enhance	O
a	O
city	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
middleware	O
like	O
SpeedTree	B-General_Concept
has	O
also	O
been	O
used	O
for	O
in-game	O
afforestation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
interview	O
on	O
September	O
11	O
,	O
2007	O
Philippe	O
Da	O
Silva	O
announced	O
that	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
would	O
include	O
a	O
large	O
variety	O
of	O
maps	O
and	O
landscapes	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
allow	O
players	O
a	O
greater	O
depth	O
with	O
the	O
types	O
of	O
cities	O
they	O
wanted	O
to	O
create	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
pre-released	O
screen	O
shot	O
of	O
an	O
Aspen	O
map	O
confirmed	O
that	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
would	O
include	O
snowy	O
landscapes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
may	O
not	O
have	O
all	O
the	O
graphic	O
options	O
fully	O
turned	O
on	O
but	O
still	O
get	O
better	O
quality	O
visuals	O
than	O
City	B-Application
Life	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2007	O
,	O
a	O
screenshot	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
city	B-Application
building	I-Application
game	I-Application
from	O
Monte	O
Cristo	O
was	O
posted	O
in	O
Philippe	O
Da	O
Silva	O
's	O
personal	O
blog	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
later	O
revealed	O
in	O
a	O
community	O
website	O
interview	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
not	O
be	O
called	O
City	B-Protocol
Life	I-Protocol
2	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
was	O
initially	O
named	O
Cities	B-Protocol
Unlimited	I-Protocol
to	O
avoid	O
confusion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
15	O
,	O
2008	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
Cities	B-Protocol
Unlimited	I-Protocol
official	O
game	O
title	O
would	O
be	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
,	O
Monte	O
Cristo	O
maintained	O
a	O
developer	O
blog	O
and	O
internet	B-Application
forums	I-Application
on	O
their	O
main	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monte	O
Cristo	O
shut	O
down	O
in	O
May	O
2010	O
following	O
poor	O
sales	O
of	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
25	O
,	O
2010	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
Focus	O
Home	O
Interactive	O
had	O
acquired	O
the	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
franchise	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
titled	O
Cities	B-Application
XL	I-Application
2011	I-Application
would	O
be	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
14	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
11	O
,	O
2011	O
the	O
franchise	O
's	O
developers	O
announced	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
titled	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
fully	O
compatible	O
with	O
Cities	B-Application
XL	I-Application
2011	I-Application
version	O
with	O
a	O
discounted	O
upgrade	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
simultaneously	O
released	O
as	O
an	O
expansion	O
pack	O
or	O
update	O
of	O
Cities	B-Application
XL	I-Application
2011	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
Platinum	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
February	O
6	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
a	O
sequel	O
to	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
2012	O
which	O
adds	O
50	O
new	O
buildings	O
and	O
new	O
maps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
5	O
,	O
2015	O
the	O
franchise	O
's	O
developers	O
released	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
titled	O
Cities	B-Application
XXL	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
received	O
average	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
having	O
"	O
pushed	O
the	O
genre	O
in	O
the	O
right	O
direction	O
"	O
with	O
its	O
"	O
friendlier	O
learning	O
curve	O
"	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
SimCity	B-Application
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
praised	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
for	O
"	O
taking	O
a	O
city	B-Application
builder	I-Application
online	O
"	O
,	O
but	O
described	O
the	O
multiplayer	O
feature	O
as	O
"	O
limited	O
and	O
overpriced	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
single-player	O
mode	O
as	O
an	O
"	O
afterthought	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
1UP.com	O
also	O
criticised	O
the	O
trading	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
while	O
the	O
review	O
did	O
describe	O
the	O
graphics	O
as	O
"	O
fantastic	O
"	O
,	O
it	O
concluded	O
that	O
Cities	B-Protocol
XL	I-Protocol
was	O
being	O
"	O
dragged	O
down	O
"	O
by	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
