Planet Zoo 2 went from announcement to launch in under five months, and Frontier has kept a steady drip of reveals the whole way. Every dated entry below is first-party, with the source linked. The next milestone is the October 13, 2026 launch.
The timeline so far
May 28, 2026. Announcement day. The Announce Trailer went live on the official channel, and the official site opened pre-orders with the date, the four store channels and both editions.
June 7, 2026. Gameplay Trailer, ten days after the announce. First extended look at habitats, building tools and the new aquarium and aviary systems.
Through summer 2026. Feature Focus shorts rolled onto the Steam page, one per pillar: animals, aquatics, flyers, zoo creativity and Wildlife Reserves.
September 30, 2026. Official Soundtrack video: Carving Canopies by J.J. Ipsen. A music release eleven days out signals the marketing endgame. See the trailers page for the full video list.
October 1, 2026. Animal Spotlight: Long-tailed Parakeet, the latest entry in the flying species roster.
Early October 2026, daily. The official Zoopedia is revealing species one batch at a time. A community post dated October 2 counts twelve animals in twelve days as the run's pace. Community-labelled, not an official schedule, but it matches the Zoopedia's own growth. The compiled roster is tracked with a timestamp on the animal roster page.
The two dates that matter next
- October 13, 2026. Launch on Steam, Epic Games Store, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Unlock hour and preload status are still unannounced.
- Launch week. The first patch notes, any day-one update wording, and possibly a launch trailer all typically land here. The DLC page explains why no post-launch roadmap exists yet.
Where to follow officially
The official Planet Zoo 2 YouTube channel and the official site's news area are the only first-party channels used so far. Everything else, including Reddit threads and creator previews, is second-hand by definition.
FAQ
When was Planet Zoo 2 announced?
May 28, 2026, with the Announce Trailer and a same-day pre-order opening carrying the October 13, 2026 date.
Is Frontier still revealing new animals?
Yes. The official Zoopedia has been adding species daily through early October 2026. The roster page carries the last-updated date so you can see how fresh any list is.