The headline feature is obviously the addition of fully aquatic and flying species. You will be able to build custom freshwater and saltwater aquariums housing sharks, hawksbill turtles and colourful shoals of fish. On the aviary side, the toco toucan and secretary bird are confirmed so far, housed in customisable aviaries built from barriers, support poles and dynamic mesh covers. The birds will fly freely inside these enclosures, and you will see dynamic behaviours both on the ground and in the air.

But Frontier is not just adding animal types. Conservation is now a core pillar. You will take on global conservation projects, meet specific requirements, and eventually release your animals into fully customisable wildlife reserves across the globe. These reserves are living ecosystems you create yourself, which sounds like a natural evolution of the franchise's educational bent. The original Planet Zoo already had a strong conservation message, but this sounds like it moves from background theme to actual gameplay loop.

Pricing, editions and pre-order bonuses

Planet Zoo 2 will launch at $49.99, £39.99 or €49.99 for the standard edition. The Deluxe Edition bumps that to $64.99, £54.99 or €64.99 and includes six additional animal species, though Frontier is keeping those specific animals under wraps for now. If you want to hedge your bets, a Deluxe Edition upgrade pack will be sold separately after launch. Pre-orders are already live on Steam and console stores, and anyone who commits early gets the Toucan Eat Shop and Signage, three Unique Animal Donation Bins, and a Tiger Photo Stand-In Wall. It is typical pre-order fluff, but the price point is reasonable for a modern simulation game. For context, the original Planet Zoo launched at a similar price and maintained a healthy player base for years through free updates and paid DLC packs.

Technical improvements and platform details

Frontier is promising improved visuals and a generational leap in animation and animal behaviour. From what we have seen so far, the animal models look significantly more detailed, with more expressive emotions and natural movements. The game supports full controller play on PC, Steam Cloud saves, HDR, and family sharing. Notably, it also incorporates Denuvo Anti-tamper, which will annoy some PC players but has become standard for major releases. The game is launching simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, so console players will not be left waiting. The Steam page lists 17 supported languages with full audio and subtitles for English, French, Italian, German and Spanish, which is solid coverage.

The CriticalPixel take

Planet Zoo was always the more thoughtful sibling to Planet Coaster. Where Coaster went for spectacle, Zoo went for systems, and it attracted a dedicated community that cares about authenticity and animal welfare. Adding aquariums and aviaries is not just a feature bullet point, it opens up entirely new design spaces. Water chemistry, bird flight paths, vertical habitat design, these are whole new puzzles for the community to solve. The wildlife reserve system could also give the game a second act beyond the traditional zoo management loop. If Frontier delivers on the animation promises, this could be the definitive zoo simulation for the next several years. The real question is whether the Deluxe Edition animals will be worth the extra $15, or if Frontier will follow the original's DLC-heavy model. Either way, October 13 is now a date to circle on the calendar.