Planet Zoo 2 locks October 13 launch at 3 PM BST, with Steam preload planned for October 12

Frontier Developments sets a single global unlock for October 13

Frontier Developments has confirmed that Planet Zoo 2 will launch on October 13, 2026 at 3 PM BST across PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in a single simultaneous unlock, rather than a staggered rollout. AltChar, A 90s Kid, GamingBolt and The Click all report the same 3 PM BST unlock time, with The Click and Afleurdenet translating it to 2 PM UTC, 10 AM EDT, 7 AM PDT and 4 PM CEST. The Click notes that the BST timing aligns with the UK PlayStation Store release listing.

Steam preload is planned for 3 PM BST on October 12

Frontier plans to open Steam preloading for Planet Zoo 2 at 3 PM BST on October 12, 2026, a day before the confirmed release, for customers who have already pre-purchased the game. A 90s Kid, AltChar and The Click each describe the October 12 preload window as planned rather than confirmed, and AltChar adds that timing is subject to change. The Click observes that Frontier has not announced matching preload start times for PS5 or Xbox Series X|S. A separate DEV Community write-up cites a 48-hour preload window opening at 3 PM BST on October 11, which conflicts with Frontier's October 12 plan; the Frontier-announced timing reported by AltChar, A 90s Kid, The Click and GamingBolt takes precedence as the developer's stated schedule.

Editions, pricing and pre-purchase bonus content

Afleurdenet and The Click list two editions at launch. The Standard Edition is priced at $49.99 USD, £39.99 GBP and €49.99 EUR, while the Deluxe Edition is listed at $64.99 USD, £54.99 GBP and €64.99 EUR. AltChar states that pre-purchasing the game includes a Bonus Content Pack, and The Click clarifies that the Deluxe package adds six animal species and decorations but does not change the confirmed release time. Afleurdenet adds that physical copies for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are scheduled to arrive on October 20, 2026.

Reported system requirements and platform availability

The Click and Afleurdenet publish system requirements drawn from the Frontier store listing. Minimum specs call for an Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM, an RTX 2060 (6 GB), RX 5600 XT (6 GB) or Arc A750 (8 GB), DirectX 12 and 40 GB of SSD storage on Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). Recommended specs lift the CPU to an Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, keep 16 GB of RAM, and require an RTX 3070 (8 GB), RX 6700 XT (12 GB) or Arc A770 (16 GB). Afleurdenet notes that the game will launch on Windows 10 but that Frontier will not promise ongoing support for the operating system, since Microsoft has ended support for it. The DEV Community write-up separately lists a recommended 32 GB of RAM.

Source disagreement on the preload start date

The evidence ledger does not align on when Steam preloading opens. AltChar, A 90s Kid, The Click, GamingBolt and Afleurdenet attribute a planned October 12 preload to Frontier's October 9 announcement. The DEV Community post, authored by the maintainer of a third-party Planet Zoo 2 wiki, instead states that preloading opens 48 hours before launch at 3 PM BST on October 11, and characterises the data as drawn from the store listing and launch payload rather than from Frontier directly. The Frontier-announced October 12 timing is the more frequently cited figure across the four lead-role sources.

Next milestone

The next verifiable milestone is the planned start of the Steam preload window at 3 PM BST on October 12, 2026, followed by the confirmed Planet Zoo 2 global unlock at 3 PM BST on October 13, 2026.