Planet Zoo 2 finally revealed after much teasing, with an autumn release date, aquatic and flying species, and the ability to conserve outside of your zoo

Earlier this week, the park sim veterans at Frontier Developments began teasing Planet Zoo 2. Now, the sequel has been fully revealed, and it's coming later this year with a handful of huge additions.

Planet Zoo 2 will be released 13th October 2026 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. That autumn release window worked well for Jurassic World Evolution 3 last year. It's also nice to see Planet Zoo made available on PC and consoles at the same time - the 2019 original didn't make the jump to consoles until March 2024.

The game was announced with a trailer, which shows the additions of aquatic and flying animal species that enable all sorts of new creative opportunities when creating habitats and more complex zoo layouts. Moreover, "players can now take conservation outside of their zoos, restoring natural habitats and releasing animals into Wildlife Reserves" according to the press release, as the game is chasing a more "authentic" approach to animal conservation. Of course, everything is looking nicer after a seven-year jump as well.

At the time of writing, it's unclear if more ideas and elements from Planet Coaster 2 and Jurassic World Evolution 3 - Frontier's two previous games - have made it into Planet Zoo 2. But after an ill-fated experiment with a Warhammer RTS, Frontier has seemed to remember where its strengths lie and found success there.

Image credit: Frontier Developments

Pre-orders of Planet Zoo 2 will receive a "Bonus Content Pack" at launch with extra buildings and customisation for parks, with the Deluxe Edition - which takes the price from £39.99 to £54.99 - adding six bonus animal species available in a separate upgrade.

Last but not least, we've been told to stay tuned for more news really soon, "during the Wholesome Games showcase on 6th June and the PC Gaming Show on 7th June".