Updated daily · 13 Oct 2026
Player reception
Planet Zoo 2
Frontier’s zoo sequel adds flying birds and aquariums, and its most helpful launch-day reviews split almost evenly between delight at the new tools and frustration with bugs.
In short
As of 13 October, 72% of 605 player reviews recommend it. Fans of the first game who mostly build find it a big step up, with flying birds, aquariums, Wildlife Reserves and far easier paths and terrain tools. The players who advise waiting cite bugs that break habitats and lose progress, a Franchise mode that struggled on launch day and an animal roster with gaps. For now, Career mode is the steadiest way in.
Developer
Frontier Developments
Publisher
Frontier Developments
Released
Recommend it
72%of 605 reviews134
What players say
What players say about Planet Zoo 2.
Players praise the birds, aquariums, building tools and animals. Bugs, a struggling Franchise mode and gaps in the roster lead the complaints.134
Read in full
We read every one of these reviews on 14 October 2026 and judged each by what it says.
- Most fans of the first game call it an upgrade.
- Players with hundreds of hours in Planet Zoo praise the easier paths, the foliage and terrain brushes, livelier animals and many small fixes to building and management.134
- Birds and aquariums are the highlight.
- Fully flying birds, aquariums and the new Wildlife Reserves win the most praise, and several call it the best-looking zoo game they have played.134135
- Bugs drive the negative reviews.
- Players report animals boxed and unboxed in a loop, keepers and guests stuck on paths, aquariums that won’t fill and crashes that lose progress. Many who hit them ask others to wait for patches and say they’ll change their review once fixed.134
- Franchise mode struggled on launch day.
- Players met connection failures and a crowded animal market, and find progress slow because many animals unlock only through Career mode or a higher zoo rating.134
- The roster leaves gaps.
- Players miss staples from the first game such as the cheetah, the kangaroo and the sea lion, and find the Americas and Australia thinly covered. Many expect paid packs to fill them.134
- Menus and maps divide returning players.
- Several find the new interface slower, with a pop-up for every shop price and full-screen trading and research screens. Some notice maps that reuse the same scenery across continents.134
- It asks a lot of the graphics card.
- Many run it smoothly on high settings, while others see 30 to 45 frames per second on top cards, flickering detail and blur when zoomed out. A few found it looked flat until they fixed the resolution it chose on first launch.134
Themes raised
| Theme | Most helpful, of 80 | Latest, of 40 |
|---|---|---|
| Compared with the first game | 39 | 18 |
| Bugs and crashes | 38 | 14 |
| Birds, aquariums and reserves | 23 | 8 |
| Visuals and animals | 22 | 6 |
| Building and path tools | 19 | 12 |
| Franchise and other modes | 19 | 7 |
| Performance | 19 | 6 |
| Animal roster | 15 | 8 |
| Menus and management | 15 | 5 |
| Price and value | 6 | 2 |
Questions
Planet Zoo 2, in short.
Is Planet Zoo 2 worth it?
Most players say yes. As of 13 October, 72% of 605 reviews recommend it. Fans of the first game who mainly build enjoy it most, while many who hit launch bugs suggest waiting for patches.134
Is Planet Zoo 2 better than Planet Zoo?
Most fans of the first game call it an upgrade for building, animals and visuals. Others miss animals and menus they knew, and a few see it as the first game with new features added.134
Does Planet Zoo 2 have flying birds and aquariums?
Yes. Frontier added fully flying birds and fully aquatic species for the first time, along with Wildlife Reserves where you release animals into the wild.135
How many animals are in Planet Zoo 2?
Is Planet Zoo 2 buggy?
At launch many players met bugs, including animals boxed in a loop, staff stuck on paths, aquariums that wouldn’t fill and crashes. Others played for hours without trouble.134
Does Planet Zoo 2 use Denuvo?
Yes. The store page lists Denuvo Anti-tamper.134
What PC do you need for Planet Zoo 2?
The minimum is a Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce RTX 2060, Radeon RX 5600 XT or Arc A750. Frontier recommends a Core i7-10700K or Ryzen 7 5800X with a GeForce RTX 3070, Radeon RX 6700 XT or Arc A770, on Windows 11. It needs 40 GB on an SSD.134
Cite or embed
Quote this page or embed its badge.
You can quote our findings and figures with a link back to this page. The badge’s figure updates every day. How to use our research.
Link
https://creativecult.digital/games/planet-zoo-2Citation
Creative Cult (2026). How players received Planet Zoo 2. Updated 14 October 2026. https://creativecult.digital/games/planet-zoo-2Badge
<a href="https://creativecult.digital/games/planet-zoo-2"><img src="https://creativecult.digital/games/planet-zoo-2/badge.png" width="320" height="100" alt="How players received Planet Zoo 2, by Creative Cult"></a>Sources
- 134Steam: Planet Zoo 2, store page and user reviews (opens in a new tab) Accessed 14 Oct 2026
- 135Frontier Developments on Steam: Planet Zoo 2 is out now, 13 October (opens in a new tab) Accessed 14 Oct 2026
- 136Frontier Developments on Steam: managing a zoo, and pre-orders on PC, PS5 and Xbox, 23 September (opens in a new tab) Accessed 14 Oct 2026