It’s hard to believe Planet Zoo – still the best of developer Frontier’s modern-day management sims – is six years old. But six it is, and today’s birthday celebrations have brought major news, confirming a sequel is on the way.
Planet Zoo launched back in November 2019, bringing the striking presentation and rich customisation of its sister game, Planet Coaster, to the world of zoo management. It was brilliant stuff; gorgeous (just look at those animals!) but with a rock-solid management core. In the six years since, Planet Zoo has received 20 expansion packs – adding new animals, new campaign scenarios, and new themed scenery – and it’s even come to consoles too.
But there’s still more in store for Planet Zoo, as teased in the game’s newly released sixth anniversary trailer. It concludes with a ticker counting up through the years from 2019 to 2026, after which all but one number fades away – the number two. And if the implication wasn’t obvious enough, Frontier made a more explicit announcement
“Since we launched Planet Zoo back in 2019 we’ve been blown away by the creativity, passion and dedication of you, the community,” the studio wrote. “But what does the future hold? Well, today we are delighted to reveal that we are hard at work on a sequel to Planet Zoo! We’re really excited about this project, and we look forward to sharing more with you next year!”
It’s not entirely clear if Planet Zoo 2 is launching next year, or if that’s purely when Frontier will start talking about it, but it’ll certainly be interesting to see how the studio plans to meaningfully build on the already pretty definitive first game, particularly after its disappointing Planet Coaster sequel. Here’s hoping it can do the excellent original proud! And also for flying birds.