Elite Dangerous studio Frontier Developments has signed a deal with Universal Products & Experiences to make third Jurassic World title – and it’ll be one of three new management games coming from the studio over the next few years.
While Frontier hasn’t explicitly referred to the new game as Jurassic World Evolution 3, it seems unlikely it’ll be anything else given the studio goes on to note its Jurassic World Evolution series is currently one of the strongest in its portfolio. Jurassic World Evolution 1 & 2 rank first and second respectively in terms revenue generated over their first two years – and that’s despite Frontier previously admitting to “lower than expected” sales
All Frontier has so far said about its next Jurassic World game is that it’ll be another “creative management simulation” – and that it’s one of three management sims the studio is planning on releasing over the next three consecutive years.
The first is a currently unannounced “own-IP” title arriving during Frontier’s next financial year (that’s 1st June 2024 to 31st May 2025) which the studio expects to reveal “in the coming months”. It’s long been rumoured the developer is working on a Planet Coaster sequel which would fit the bill, but whatever it is, it’ll be followed in Frontier’s 2026 financial year (1st June 2025 to 31st May 2026) by the newly announced Jurassic World Evolution game. A third unannounced management sim is due to release during its financial year 2027.
Beyond the three games discussed in its latest announcement, Frontier has one other confirmed title on its slate: a third F1 Manager game, announced in March and due to arrive this summer. Frontier signed a deal to release four F1 management games back in 2020, but the series has so far struggled to find much success.
Players criticised the first instalment for shallow, undercooked features and a significant number of bugs – and Frontier almost immediately soured its relationship with the community by ending post-launch support less than two months after release. It later admitted F1 Manager 2022 had been a flop, and last year’s follow-up – perhaps unsurprisingly given the community’s frustration – similarly underperformed, resulting in layoffs at the studio as part of an organisational review. Frontier was later accused of “nothing but total and continuing failures of leadership” by employees in a report that followed the layoffs.
Frontier has also drawn ire this week for its decision to lock Elite Dangerous’ latest ship, the Python Mk II, behind a £10-15 “early access” paywall – a move fans have called “pay to win”.