Planet Zoo 2 Is Out October 13: Aquariums and Aviaries Finally Arrive, and Reviewers Are Impressed but Not Uncritical

By Previously Staff, Previously

October 13, 2026

Frontier's sequel launches with 136 species, fully aquatic habitats, aviaries and new Wildlife Reserves. Critics call it a masterful, gorgeous — and at times buggy, overwhelming — upgrade.

Every Planet Zoo player has a list. For six years, since the original game launched in 2019, that list has started with the same two words: aquariums and aviaries. The two most requested habitats in the community — the ones that would let a zoo stop being only a land zoo — are finally here. Planet Zoo 2, developed and published by Frontier Developments, released today, October 13, for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and its entire pitch can be summed up as: the list got answered.

Digital versions are out today, with physical console discs following on October 20. The standard edition costs $49.99, while the Deluxe Edition at $64.99 adds six species — including the Golden Eagle, Golden Lion Tamarin, Great Hammerhead Shark and Axolotl — plus additional shop and decor items. The game is rated ESRB Teen.

Underwater, Overhead, and Out in the Wild

The new systems are substantial rather than decorative. Aquariums bring fully aquatic animals into the building toolkit for the first time in the series, which changes zoo design at a fundamental level — tanks, viewing galleries and water habitats obey different rules than paddocks. Aviaries finally let birds do the thing birds are famous for. And the new Wildlife Reserves mode leans into conservation, giving the sequel a thematic center the original sometimes only gestured at: this is a game that wants you thinking about protecting species, not just displaying them.

The roster backs that ambition up. Planet Zoo 2 launches with 136 species, against 79 at the original game's launch — a number that matters because variety is the raw material of every zoo build. Campaign and story play returns alongside the Sandbox and Franchise modes series regulars expect, and Frontier has overhauled both the building tools and the animal AI pathing, two of the original's most persistent friction points.

What the Reviewers Are Saying

The critical consensus, across AltChar, DualShockers, TheGamer and GameWatcher, is warm with honest caveats. DualShockers called the game a masterful upgrade, singling out the new habitats as fabulous additions. TheGamer praised animals that are both gorgeous and full of personality, along with the depth of the management simulation, while noting visual issues and bugs. AltChar credited Frontier with fixing long-standing building frustrations from the first game — a complaint veterans will recognize instantly — while lamenting that some returning land animals are missing at launch, cheetahs among them.

GameWatcher landed at a 7.5 score, describing a game that could be the deepest zoo simulation yet, but one that is buggy at launch and heavy on micromanagement, with user-interface friction getting in the way. Several reviewers sounded the same warning in different words: for all its tutorials, Planet Zoo 2 can overwhelm newcomers. This is a sequel built first for the faithful, and it does not apologize much for that.

The Price of Depth

None of those caveats should surprise anyone who played the original. Frontier's Planet games have always traded accessibility for depth — the joy of them is precisely the hundred small decisions between an empty plot and a living, functioning zoo. What is new is the scale of the canvas. Aquariums and aviaries are not cosmetic additions; they double the kinds of spaces you are designing, and the Wildlife Reserves give experienced players a new kind of problem to solve. If the original game was a superb land zoo, the sequel's ambition is the whole natural world.

The missing animals are the community's likeliest sticking point. Launching a sequel with a bigger roster that still omits beloved species from the first game — AltChar's cheetah example will be repeated in forums all week — is the kind of decision that reads as future DLC whether Frontier intends it that way or not. Players who kept the same zoo for years will feel those absences personally.

Should You Build on Day One?

Here is our honest read of the launch state. If you loved Planet Zoo, the answer is already yes — the habitats you asked for since 2019 are here, the building tools are fixed in the ways AltChar describes, and the depth TheGamer and DualShockers praise is real. If you are new, the reviewers' warning deserves respect: wait for a patch or two, let the launch bugs GameWatcher flagged get ironed out, and let the community's beginner guides catch up. The animals will still be gorgeous in a month.

Either way, Planet Zoo 2 is the rare sequel whose headline features are exactly the ones its players requested, in exactly the form they requested them. Frontier listened — and then, characteristically, built the most detailed possible version of what it heard. Planet Zoo 2 is out now digitally on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with physical console editions on October 20. More launch coverage is on the Previously games hub.