The zookeeping sim Planet Zoo launched six years ago today, and it was pretty good: "Another strong (yet stressful) management sim from Frontier Developments," PC Gamer's number one menagerie manager Chris Livingston declared in a 75% review. The studio released a six-year anniversary video to celebrate the birthday, which is usually the sort of thing we don't pay much attention to around here, but I'm making an exception in this case because there is a very strong hint at the end suggesting that a sequel is on the way.
It's not exactly subtle: A count-up of numbers from 2019, the year of Planet Zoo's release, to 2025—and then one more, to 2026, which then slowly transforms into a "2."
Just to ensure the point isn't missed, Frontier Developments also explicitly confirmed a sequel in an announcement on its website.
"Since we launched Planet Zoo back in 2019 we've been blown away by the creativity, passion and dedication of you, the community!" Frontier wrote. "From beautiful environments and habitats for animals to thrive in, to jaw-dropping zoos both big and small, Planet Zoo has become a way for us all to express our love of animals, and to share the importance of their welfare and conservation across the globe.
"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!"
And yes, that is all I've got for you right now: It's happening, and we'll hear more about it later. Frontier did not, for the record, confirm that Planet Zoo 2 will actually be released in 2026, although the video clearly points to it. It's possible that could just be a reference to when the studio will properly reveal it, but I think that's pretty unlikely.
However that shakes out, it's hard to believe but 2026 is now only just a couple months away, so at the very least we should start hearing more about what's in store fairly soon. In the meantime, if you're curious about the original Planet Zoo, the deluxe edition is on sale for $14.84—73% off the regular price—on Fanatical, which also has all of the game's plentiful DLC on for 55% off.
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