Planet Zoo may be the Zoo Tycoon successor that you’ve been waiting for

While Frontier Developments may be most famous for Elite Dangerous, the studio has a long history in the management simulation genre, having worked on the Rollercoaster Tycoon series in the early 2000s while creating both Planet Coaster and Jurassic World Evolution in recent years. 

Now, Frontier is taking things to the next level by creating Planet Zoo, a title which takes the park management systems of Planet Coaster and the animal handling aspects of Jurassic World Evolution to create what could be seen as a spiritual successor to the Zoo Tycoon series. 

With Planet Zoo Frontier promises to deliver “the most authentic, most realistic animals in any game”, with plans to release the title later this year on PC. In the game’s announcement trailer, a Steam logo is present, suggesting that the game will release exclusively on Valve’s gaming platform. That said, there is always the chance that Epic Games will give Frontier an offer they can’t refuse.  

Interestingly, Planet Zoo will be about more than simply keeping animals alive and park goers entertained. Genetics will also factor into the success of players, touching on some of the issues facing today’s Zoos. Inbreeding will cause problems for Zoos later down the line, adding an extra layer to the game that will help keep things interesting as each game progresses.