A Deeper Look Inside Planet Zoo 2’s Announce Trailer

Gareth Hughes, Game Director, Frontier Developments

This October, we’ll be welcoming Zookeepers back with the sequel to the critically acclaimed Planet Zoo. Over six years ago, when we first launched Planet Zoo, we couldn’t have foreseen just how passionate you, our community, would become. Now, it’s time to once again build a wilder world and let your creativity soar in Frontier’s most advanced zoo simulation game to date. In this article I’ll be guiding you through the Planet Zoo 2 announce trailer.

Wildlife Brought to Life

The first animal we get to see is a species you’ll see on our marketing artwork, the Sumatran Tiger. The team as a whole may be a little biased towards these guys, as they just look fantastic. But from the detail in their fur and facial expressions to the way they move and sound, you can really see the huge generational leap in fidelity Planet Zoo 2 offers here. Watching the cubs chase each other around the habitat also provides us with a first look at the new behaviour system. Planet Zoo 2 features a living UI system with animals behaving differently depending on their current mood. For example, our Tiger being lethargic if they’re unhappy with their environment, visually telling the player that they need to make a change. Throughout Planet Zoo 2’s development we’ve worked to ensure that all of our animals feel genuinely alive and have authentic behaviours and interactions.

Creating animals that feel true to life has always been at the heart of Planet Zoo, and our team has spent years refining how we bring each species to life. The Western Chimpanzee is another great example of this. As a fan favourite from the first game, it was important for us to get them right, as chimpanzees spend so much of their time climbing and moving above the ground. From improved brachiation and more dynamic jumping ability, to performing more actions like sleeping on their climbing frames, Planet Zoo 2‘s Chimpanzees are realistic reflections of their real-world counterparts. Throughout this trailer, keen-eyed zookeepers will also spot cohabitation returning from Planet Zoo. In Planet Zoo 2, cohabitation plays a larger role in management, but we’ll reveal more about that over the coming months.

Also in the trailer, we’ve seen how habitats can be built to feel more natural and dynamic across different species by leveraging a massive selection of scenery, including four brand new themes we’ll be sharing more about soon. Back onto the animals, we got a brief glimpse of our Plains Zebras moving through their habitat. What might immediately jump out at you is the level of detail you can achieve with different scenery. This habitat features a custom-built path allowing zoo guests to pass over the top of their enclosure.

And we can’t miss out our fantastic Saltwater Crocodile, with a look at them both in the water and basking on wooden platforms. Speaking of water, this is another area where we’ve made large strides in technology. In Planet Zoo 2, water dynamically reacts to animals’ movements. This can be anything from terrestrial species causing ripples as they traverse water, to our Saltwater Crocs causing waves as they swim at the surface.

Aquatics & Aviaries

New for Planet Zoo 2 are aquariums and aviaries, which have allowed us to add fully aquatic and flying species for the first time. This is an area the team have been working on since day one, and a huge technical achievement, as both our birds and fish have full 3D navigation, but we’re really excited to share a first look with our players.

In the announcement trailer, we’ve showcased a couple of our hero aquatic species, including my personal favourite, the Hawksbill Turtle. As a critically endangered animal, being able to highlight this turtle in such true-to-life detail is fantastic. Alongside the Hawksbill, we’ve also shown a glimpse of the slightly derpy Ocean Sunfish and shoals of smaller fish. As one of the ocean’s largest bony fish, weighing in at up to 2000kg, the sunfish is another dev favourite here at Frontier. We’ll have to leave you to imagine why.

Flying species is something the team has again been really excited to showcase. Aviaries, like aquariums, are another fully customisable habitat, with Zookeepers simply needing to place walls before using support poles to auto-generate a covering.

Our new friends, the Toco Toucans, were next to make an appearance inside one of our new aviaries. I think this moment really captures what the team have been working towards with Planet Zoo 2. Aviaries are more than just a place to house your birds! They’re immersive spaces where animals can interact with their environments in authentic ways, including natural perching around their enclosure. Aviaries can even be set up to allow guests to walk through them, so long as it is safe to do so.

Across all our aquatic, terrestrial and flying species, ensuring they are as realistic in animation, behaviours, and sound design as possible has been at the core of Planet Zoo 2’s development.

Conservation & Management

In Planet Zoo 2, we’ve added a deeper focus on conservation. Zookeepers will need to build habitats that reflect each species’ natural environment, while also creating immersive spaces for guests to learn and connect with the animals they see. Well-designed habitats improve animal welfare and guest experience, boost zoo ratings, and help generate the income needed to expand further. Additionally, they’ll need to manage staff morale and training as their zoo grows. Beyond the zoo, players will be taking on conservation projects across the globe and helping to revitalise expansive Wildlife Reserves by releasing their zoo’s animals back into their natural habitats. We’ll have much more to share about this exciting new addition to the game in the run up to launch, so stay tuned!

Pre-Order Now

From today, players who pre-order will receive the Bonus Content Pack at launch, which includes the Toucan Eat Shop and Signage, three Unique Animal Donation Bins, and the Tiger Photo Stand-In Wall.

Dedicated Zookeepers looking to expand their animal conservation efforts further can purchase the Planet Zoo 2: Deluxe Edition, which bundles the Planet Zoo 2 base game alongside the Planet Zoo 2: Deluxe Upgrade Pack. This introduces an additional six animal species from across the globe, as well as a selection of exclusive animal signs to decorate their park. Planet Zoo 2 will launch October 13 on XBOX Series X|S and PC for a suggested retail price of £39.99/$49.99/€49.99 for the Standard Edition, and £54.99/$64.99/€64.99 for the Deluxe Edition.