Planet Zoo 2 release date: October 13, $49.99, and what the Deluxe Edition adds

Planet Zoo 2 release date: what we know as of 4 October

The Planet Zoo 2 release date is 13 October 2026, nine days from now. Frontier Developments is launching the zoo-management sequel on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on the same day, at $49.99 for the Standard Edition and $64.99 for the Deluxe Edition, according to the game's Steam page. The studio is both developer and publisher, and Wikipedia lists the game as a construction and management simulation.

That is a straightforward launch, and it is one of the busiest weeks of the autumn. Planet Zoo 2 lands a day before Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 on 14 October, and a week after Star Wars: Galactic Racer on 6 October. If you play management sims, this is the one that will take your evenings, so it is worth knowing exactly what you are paying for before the pre-purchase window closes.

This piece sets out the date, the two editions, the pre-order bonus, the new features Frontier has actually shown, and the PC requirements. Where something is not confirmed, we say so rather than guess.

Price and editions: Standard versus Deluxe

Steam lists two ways to buy. The Standard Edition is $49.99. The Deluxe Edition is $64.99, so the premium is $15. AllKeyShop's coverage of the announcement gives the European prices as 49.99 and 64.99 euros, so the pricing is mirrored rather than converted.

The difference is cosmetic content plus species. Steam describes the Deluxe Upgrade Pack as adding six animal species from across the globe and a selection of exclusive animal signs. AllKeyShop names them: the golden eagle, golden lion tamarin, axolotl, blue-gold fusilier, hammerhead shark and longfin batfish. Two of those are aquatic fish or sharks and one is a bird of prey, which means the Deluxe pack leans on exactly the new systems the sequel is selling.

Whether $15 is worth it depends on how much you care about completeness. The base game ships with its own roster, including returning favourites like the lion and the western chimpanzee, according to the Steam description. None of the Deluxe species is described as gating any mode or feature, and nothing we found says they are locked out forever. We could not find a statement from Frontier on whether the six will be sold separately later, so treat that as unknown.

The pre-order bonus: a small cosmetic pack

Pre-purchasing on Steam includes a Bonus Content Pack at launch. Per the store page, it contains a Toucan Eat Shop and signage, three unique animal donation bins and a Tiger Photo Stand-In Wall. These are decorative and income-side items: a place to sell food, a way to collect donations, and a photo prop.

AllKeyShop describes the same three items as the incentive for all pre-orders. The honest read is that this is a modest perk and not a reason to commit nine days early. Nothing in the pack changes how the simulation plays, and a Standard Edition buyer who waits for launch reviews on 13 October gives up only a toucan shop and a cardboard tiger.

If you have already decided to buy, pre-purchasing costs nothing extra on Steam, and the bonus arrives at launch. If you are undecided, the sensible move is to wait for the first player reviews, which will not exist until the game is out. At the time of writing, Steam shows no user reviews for Planet Zoo 2.

Aquariums, aviaries and Wildlife Reserves: the new systems

The headline pitch is fully aquatic and flying species, which Steam describes as new to the franchise. TechTimes, reporting on the May reveal, says players can build customisable freshwater and saltwater aquariums, with confirmed species including blacktip reef sharks and hawksbill turtles. Aviaries use dynamic mesh covers and support poles so you can design custom flight enclosures for birds such as the toco toucan and the secretary bird.

AllKeyShop quotes the reveal on one detail that sets this apart from the first game: guests can walk through the aviaries, and the birds can walk along the paths with them. That is a design choice with real consequences for guest happiness, enclosure layout and animal welfare, the same trade-offs that made the original absorbing.

The third system is Wildlife Reserves. Steam says players can release species into customisable, expansive reserves, taking conservation beyond the zoo. TechTimes describes this as a long-term objective built around restoring natural habitats around the world. Career, Franchise, Challenge and Sandbox modes are all reported to return, with cross-platform blueprint sharing through Frontier Workshop, though we have not seen Frontier's own full mode list.

Planet Zoo 2 system requirements for PC

Steam publishes both tiers. The minimum is Windows 10 or 11, an Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM, and a GeForce RTX 2060 with 6 GB of VRAM, a Radeon RX 5600 XT with 6 GB, or an Intel Arc A750 with 8 GB. DirectX 12 is required, and the game needs 40 GB of storage. Frontier recommends an SSD and notes that Microsoft has ended support for Windows 10, so it cannot guarantee ongoing compatibility there.

The recommended tier steps up to Windows 11, an Intel i7-10700K or Ryzen 7 5800X, 16 GB of RAM and an RTX 3070 with 8 GB of VRAM, a Radeon RX 6700 XT with 12 GB, or an Arc A770 with 16 GB. Frontier lists the SSD as required rather than recommended at that level.

Those are not light numbers for a management sim. An RTX 2060 and 16 GB of RAM as the floor suggests fur, feather and scale rendering is demanding, which fits the pitch of a generational leap in animal detail. The Steam page lists Windows only, and does not give Steam Deck compatibility information in the data we opened, so we cannot say how it will run on handheld PCs.

How the reveal unfolded

Wikipedia dates the original announcement to 5 November 2025, chosen to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the first Planet Zoo. The full reveal came on 28 May 2026, when Frontier confirmed the October date, the new species types and the conservation systems. Eurogamer summed up that reveal as the game finally being shown after much teasing, with an autumn date, aquatic and flying species, and conservation outside the zoo.

The gap between the teaser and the reveal is worth noting because it tells you how much of what is in the trailer is promise and how much is playable. We found no press hands-on window in anything we opened, so everything above comes from the studio, its store page and trade coverage of its announcement.

That is the usual position for a game nine days from release, and it is why we are not running a verdict here. A review needs hours played to a conclusion, and we will not imply one.

Should you pre-purchase Planet Zoo 2?

If you loved Planet Zoo and want the sequel on day one, the case is simple: $49.99, a decorative bonus pack, and a feature list that clearly extends the original rather than repeating it. The Deluxe Edition is a pure species-and-signage add-on, and it is optional.

If you are on the fence, wait. The game launches in nine days, Steam has no reviews yet, and the first week will show whether the performance requirements and the new aquatic and flying systems hold up on real hardware. That patience costs you a toucan shop and nothing else.

We will update this page if Frontier confirms a Game Pass listing, a Steam Deck status or a standalone price for the Deluxe species. None of those appeared in the sources we opened this weekend.