Is Planet Zoo 2 Worth It? Base Game, Deluxe or Wait

Is Planet Zoo 2 worth it? The short answer

That gap between 84 and 61% is the story. Critics scored the zoo. Players scored the zoo plus the crashes, the lost saves and the Franchise Mode servers.

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What Planet Zoo 2 adds over the first game

Frontier's store page lists the headline changes plainly: fully aquatic and flying species "for the first time," and Wildlife Reserves, large customisable areas where you release animals instead of keeping them in a habitat. The building tools changed too, and that is where even unhappy reviewers give credit. One negative review we read still opens with "pathing abilities are much improved. The foliage brush is a great addition."

Screenshot: Steam store page (Frontier Developments)

One player who has owned every DLC for the first game since 2019 put it simply: "Paths no longer seem like a gigantic chore and I love the Nature Brush tool." If you came to Planet Zoo to make pretty habitats, this is the line that matters. If you're new to management sims and want something cheaper to start with, our base-building and colony sim picks cover the wider genre.

What the launch trailer shows

Frontier's launch trailer runs 2:30 and spends most of it on the new animal types. At 0:05 it opens on a lion and a cub. At 0:35 a keeper with a blue backpack stands by the water next to a wading bird. The "CREATE" card lands at 0:45 over a finished zoo, at 1:15 we're inside an indoor aquarium with a column of jellyfish, and at 1:35 an on-screen label tags a parakeet's family. At 2:05 a shark passes over visitors in a glass tunnel. It sells exactly what the store page sells: water, birds and better-looking habitats. It does not show Franchise Mode at all.

Screenshot: Steam store page (Frontier Developments)

The launch problems, in Frontier's own words

The reviews are Mixed for reasons Frontier has mostly confirmed. Its 1.0.5 post on October 16 apologised for "stability issues that some players have faced in Franchise Mode" and named five high-priority areas:

• Franchise Mode stability.
• Crashes and performance.
• Save stability, and "negating the loss of CC" (Conservation Credits).
• Planet Zoo features that "have not correctly deployed," such as edge scrolling and exhibit quick sell or release.
• Animal behaviours and animations "behaving erratically."

The save problem is the one to take seriously. Another of the most upvoted negative reviews, from a player with about 21 hours at the time, describes a 12-hour sandbox build: "Hopped on the game today and all my save data is gone." Frontier's Under Investigation page, updated October 20, explains part of it: the autosave timer resets when you enter the planet hub, "preventing the autosave from triggering." Until that fix ships, Frontier recommends saving by hand often and loading through "My Saves" on the main menu so you don't overwrite an autosave.

The same page lists fixes in testing: several crashes, a bug that "caused players to rapidly go into huge amounts of debt" (Frontier plans to reset the balance of every zoo already in debt), and lower Franchise accreditation requirements for levels 3 to 5. When we checked on October 22, the next update was targeted for "late week commencing 19 October." Frontier has patched fast so far: 1.0.4 came a day after launch with DLSS and FSR fixes, keybinds, audio distortion and stability fixes, and 1.0.5 followed two days later.

One thing that confused early players: accreditation is separate in each mode. Frontier clarified that playing Career "will not advance your Franchise accreditation," and vice versa.

A Mixed launch score can take a long time to climb back. For another sim that started that way, see our Masters of Albion review.

Screenshot: Steam store page (Frontier Developments)

Base game or Deluxe Edition?

The Deluxe Edition is $64.99. Per Steam, it bundles the base game with the Deluxe Upgrade Pack: "an additional 6 animal species from across the globe" plus exclusive animal signs. That pack also sells alone for $17.99, so the bundle saves $2.99 over buying both separately. We'd buy the base game. Six animals are nice to have, but they won't change whether the game holds you, and you can add the pack later for about the same money. The $2.99 Bonus Content Pack was a pre-purchase bonus, so don't count it as a reason to pay more now.

A Steam key through one of the stores in the box below can come in under $49.99. If you'd rather wait for a discount anyway, our Steam sale calendar has every remaining date.

Can your PC run it?

The minimum spec is steep for a management sim: Windows 10 or 11, an Intel i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM and an RTX 2060 (6 GB) or RX 5600XT, with 40 GB of space and an SSD recommended. The recommended tier asks for Windows 11, an RTX 3070 and an SSD as "Required." Frontier also notes it "cannot guarantee ongoing compatibility" on Windows 10. Steam lists no Mac or Linux version.

Who should buy it, and who should wait

• Buy it if you build. Sandbox players get the new path, terrain and nature tools, aquariums and aviaries, and the bugs hurt less when you save by hand often.
• Wait if Franchise Mode is your game. Frontier lists it first among its high-priority areas, which tells you it isn't settled yet. The accreditation and debt fixes were still in testing on October 20.
• Wait if you have a long career save in mind. Until the autosave fix lands, a crash can cost you hours.
• Skip the Deluxe Edition for now. Six species for $15 more is a later purchase.
• Look elsewhere if you want a different kind of builder. Our Empires of the Undergrowth review covers an ant colony builder, and Paralives is the life-sim pick if building is what you enjoy most (start with our house-building guide). For tighter budgets, see the best indie games under $20, and for systems over scenery, our automation and logistics list or Combolands.

The most upvoted negative review we read came from a long-time fan with two hours in it: "You should've let this bake in the oven for another year, bud," they wrote. That's the honest frame. The oven part is Frontier's job now, and its posts so far suggest it's doing it in public.

Our take

We'd buy Planet Zoo 2 at the base price if you build for the joy of building, and we'd wait two or three patches if you want a stable Franchise economy. The 61% on Steam is not a verdict on the zoo. It's a verdict on launch week. Even some negative reviews praise the tools, the store page delivers the aquatic and flying animals it promised, and the fixes Frontier lists are the right ones. Check the patch notes before you buy; if the autosave fix is out, most of our caution goes with it.

How we checked this

We haven't played Planet Zoo 2. On October 22, 2026 we read the Steam store page and Deluxe Edition listing, pulled review totals and the most helpful English reviews from Steam's review API, read Frontier's launch, 1.0.4, player feedback and 1.0.5 posts and its Under Investigation page, took the live player count from Steam's API (13,104 at 10:58 UTC), and stepped through Frontier's launch trailer every 10 seconds for the timestamps above.

References

1. Planet Zoo 2 on Steam, Steam
2. Planet Zoo 2: Deluxe Upgrade Pack, Steam
3. Update 1.0.5, Frontier on Steam
4. Update 1.0.4, Frontier on Steam
5. Player Feedback and Planned Maintenance, Frontier on Steam
6. Under Investigation, Planet Zoo official site
7. Planet Zoo 2 launch trailer, Planet Zoo 2 on YouTube