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Overview
Planet Zoo 2 is a zoo construction and management simulation from Frontier Developments, the studio behind the original Planet Zoo and the Planet Coaster series. The sequel builds on every system from its predecessor while adding two entirely new animal categories: fully aquatic species and free-flying birds. Players construct and manage zoos across multiple global biomes, then extend their conservation work into expansive Wildlife Reserves where bred animals can be released into living ecosystems.
The animal roster spans familiar favourites like the Lion and Western Chimpanzee alongside new additions including Blacktip Reef Sharks, Hawksbill Turtles, the Toco Toucan, and the Secretarybird. Each species carries its own behavioural model, from authentic herding patterns to grazing on player-placed vegetation. Frontier describes this as a generational leap in animal detail, with expressive emotions and natural movement systems that go well beyond what the first game delivered.
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Career mode puts players in the role of a new Conservation Coordinator at FEN (Fauna and Ecosystems Network), working through zoo scenarios and Wildlife Reserve missions across the globe. Franchise mode brings back the animal trading network from the original, letting players exchange species with others across platforms. Sandbox mode removes all restrictions for those who want pure creative freedom.
Aquatic and aviary habitats: what's actually new?
The two biggest additions in Planet Zoo 2 are the aquarium and aviary systems, both of which are entirely new to the franchise. Aquariums support both freshwater and saltwater setups, housing shoaling fish alongside larger species like sharks and turtles. These aren't shallow cosmetic tanks; the water environments require their own habitat management and species-specific conditions.
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Key new habitat types include:
- Custom freshwater and saltwater aquariums
- Fully enclosed aviaries with barriers, support poles, and dynamic mesh covers
- Expanded Wildlife Reserves for post-zoo conservation
- Biome-specific terrain using new foliage and terrain brushes
- Piece-by-piece construction tools alongside ready-to-place blueprints
Aviaries work through a barrier-and-mesh construction system that lets birds fly freely within a defined space. Species like the Toco Toucan and Secretarybird display distinct ground and aerial behaviours, which means aviary design directly affects how guests observe them.
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Wildlife Reserves and conservation gameplay
Wildlife Reserves are the most significant structural addition to the zoo management loop. Once players meet specific conservation requirements in their zoos, they can release animals into large-scale reserves that function as separate buildable spaces. These reserves are customisable ecosystems, shaped by terrain tools and populated by released animals living in conditions players have designed.
This system gives the conservation angle of zoo management actual mechanical weight. Breeding programmes in the zoo feed directly into reserve populations, creating a progression loop that extends well beyond the zoo gates.
Building tools and scenery depth
Planet Zoo 2 ships with 4 brand-new scenery themes representing architecture from different world regions, plus 5 returning themes carried over from the original game. The construction toolkit retains the piece-by-piece building system Planet franchise fans know, now paired with updated scaling options, a flexi-colour system, improved pathing tools, and new foliage and terrain brushes for large-scale landscape shaping.
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Community content and cross-platform sharing
The Frontier Workshop returns as the hub for community-created content, now supporting cross-platform sharing between PC and console players. Blueprints, habitat designs, and full zoo creations can be downloaded and dropped directly into any save. For a game built around creative construction, having a shared pool of player-made content across all platforms meaningfully extends what any single player can build on their own.
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10, 11 | Windows 11 |
| Processor | Intel i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600 | Intel i7-10700K / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB VRAM) / AMD Radeon RX 5600XT (6GB VRAM) / Intel Arc A750 (8GB VRAM) | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB VRAM) / AMD Radeon RX 6700XT (12GB VRAM) / Intel Arc A770 (16GB VRAM) |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Storage | 40 GB available space | 40 GB available space |