Back in June of this year, I had the chance to take a hands-off look at what Frontier Developments was cooking up with Planet Zoo 2, the sequel to their incredible 2019 zoo management sim. As a longtime fan of Frontier and their games, it was an honor to get a glimpse at what was coming.
Now, three months later, I was able to sit down and get fully acquainted with Planet Zoo 2 at a preview event held by Frontier. Seeing how I spent the entirety of the hands-off preview event wishing I could play the game myself, it was an absolute delight to get some time with the game myself.
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During the event, I spent three hours with Planet Zoo 2, immersing myself in its systems, new animal mechanics and discovering just how much content Frontier has put into this exciting wildlife management simulation. The build in question was made entirely for this event, so it does not represent the final game, but what I played still looks like it will be one of the best tycoon management games of the year.
Catch and Release
The original Planet Zoo was a game that I put a seemingly impossible number of hours into back in 2019, and even more when it hit consoles in 2024. It’s one of Frontier’s best games, and I often wondered if a sequel was even in the cards for them. They’d found so much success with other titles in the interim, that it seemed like Planet Zoo 2 was the last thing on their mind. Flash forward seven years later, and we are incredibly close to the game’s release date.
In my three hours with Planet Zoo 2, I found myself sinking back immediately into the feeling of joy and creativity that the first game captured. If one of these types of games gets a hold of you, it becomes permanently seared into the cavities of your cranium. Much like we used to see Tetris blocks falling in our dreams, a good simulation game will have you going to sleep thinking about what you’re going to do when you play the game tomorrow.
My first two hours at the event were spent in the game’s career mode. If you’ve played a Frontier game before, you have a pretty decent idea of what to expect here. It wraps up an objective-based, sort of world tour of many zoos and wildlife reserves in a funky story with some endlessly charming NPCs. It does a great job of getting you acquainted with the new systems and mechanics, as well as helping you understand all the other basic ones. Even as a vet, I appreciate the commitment to that.
In my three hours with Planet Zoo 2, I found myself sinking back immediately into the feeling of joy and creativity that the first game captured.
Planet Zoo 2 has a lot of new features and systems, but the most interesting one to me, ever since we first heard about it, is the new wildlife reserves. The career mode puts a strong focus on this in the beginning, as Frontier really wants to hammer home how, while this game is about building the craziest zoo of your dreams, it’s also about a love and respect for the beautiful creatures that live in your zoo.
During the course of building your zoo, it will behoove you to release your animals back into their natural habitat. While we all love seeing these majestic animals up close, it’s also important in the real world for them to be in their own environments, and Planet Zoo 2’s use of wildlife reserves is wonderful. Thankfully, it’s not just lip service, as you do have to maintain and monitor those reserves to make sure everything is going smoothly. It’s that extra bit of appreciation for these digital animals that makes the game feel more honest.
Under the Sea
In the original Planet Zoo, Frontier continuously updated the game, adding new animals and enclosures for years. This is a team that has a lot of respect for each game they release, and while they did add the ability to add aquatic animals like penguins and seals, Planet Zoo 2 is going all out in the underwater realm.
Aquariums and tanks are two of the coolest additions to Planet Zoo 2 by far. There are a ton of new aquatic enclosures and tanks, all of which can be filled with so many cool sea-dwelling creatures. Penguins, manatees, crocs and a huge assortment of fish are just a few of the things you can fill your tanks with. In addition to diving into the deep, Planet Zoo 2 is also taking to the sky with new aviaries and bird enclosures, with the addition of flying birds for the sequel.
While we all love seeing these majestic animals up close, it’s also important in the real world for them to be in their own environments, and Planet Zoo 2’s use of wildlife reserves is wonderful.
I spent quite a bit of time on my tour of Planet Zoo 2 just observing them, which is one of the game’s most simple joys. There’s a certain coziness to the whole thing. Once my two hours with the career mode came to an end, I was let loose in Frontier’s animal playground. At this point, the folks at Frontier handed the reigns to me, and it became my game to play and just mess around in. And mess around I did, checking out the game’s complex, detailed simulation of a zoo in all its glory.
The micro details of the game really come into focus when you take some time to explore them. There’s so much fine detail in the buildings, but Frontier doesn’t limit it to the exterior. At the first preview event in June, Frontier made a point to showcase the interiors, and how they modeled things that players may not even see in order to approximate how a real zoo actually works. That was even more evident when I was able to play the game myself, as there’s so many tiny, impressive details in each structure that help the world feel alive.
A big part of Frontier’s mission with Planet Zoo 2 is customization, letting you create any kind of insane thing you want. If you want to have a purely traditional zoo, with no aquariums or aviaries, go for it. Or, if you’d like to just focus on being an aquarium, totally fine. Maybe you’re like me, and want to create the ultimate mix of all three. The game allows you to do that, and it encourages you to be your most creative self.
Planet Zoo 2 is in development for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and launches October 13, 2026.
Released
October 13, 2026
ESRB
Teen / Blood, Crude Humor, Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
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