Frontier Developments has officially confirmed a sequel to the excellent theme park sim Planet Coaster is set to launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in Autumn 2024 [Northern Hemisphere], bringing new features and attractions to the franchise.
Stylistically, Planet Coaster 2 appears a lot like the original Planet Coaster, but based on Frontier’s announcement, there will be ample changes to improve the theme park building experience, and to allow players greater creativity in establishing their parks. Buildings and paths have undergone a range of improvements, rides will be more customisable, and there will be plenty of new park themes for players to explore.
Another major change is the addition of water parks and water-themed attractions. In Planet Coaster 2, players will be able to establish log flumes, wave pools, water coasters and more, while placing lifeguards, sun beds, and other beach-y decorations to set the mood. You can see some of these in the new trailer for the game:
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As outlined, players will be able to build their dream theme park in three set modes: Career Mode, Franchise Mode, and the freedom-focussed Sandbox Mode. In each mode, players will need to create an economically viable park that appeals to everyone, but certain requirements and milestones will need to be met in career and franchise modes.
Planet Coaster 2 will also include online modes that allow players to visit other people’s parks, compete for the Franchise mode leaderboard, and build together in Sandbox mode. Players will also be able to share and download blueprints from other players using the Frontier Workshop – so if you’re looking to play through Disneyland, there’s likely to be a build a few weeks after launch.
So far, Planet Coaster 2 seems like it’ll be a worthy sequel, packing in new details, features, attractions, and gameplay modes to improve on the already-great Planet Coaster. For now, the game doesn’t have a firm release date, but we can look forward to seeing more in the coming months.
Frontier Developments has promised a new look at gameplay on 31 July ET/PT, so stay tuned for more details about this upcoming game.
