Planet Zoo is 4 years old: an Interview with Developers

As Planet Zoo celebrates their 4th anniversary, we have had a chance to ask developers their future plans for the game.

Ömer Faruk AKTAŞ (ÖFA) – Could you tell us briefly about yourself?

Gemma (GW) – Hayo! I’m Gemma Wardlaw, Producer on Planet Zoo. I’ve worked on the game on and off for around 4 years now and started on Planet Zoo as an artist!
Kilian (KS) – Hi, I’m Kilian Schmitt, a game designer on Planet Zoo. I joined the team about 3.5 years ago.
James (JL) – Heya, I’m James Lockett, I’m the engineering lead on Planet Zoo! I’ve been here for over 11 years now and worked on Planet Coaster too!

(ÖFA) – What was your main motivation while developing Planet Zoo? How do you feel in the fourth year?

(GW) – Planet Zoo holds so much nostalgia for a lot of players from the days of the Tycoon games, and it’s been amazing to bring that forward to the modern age. The fans have really kept us going all this time and the team always go above and beyond to deliver, also who doesn’t love looking at cute animals!

(KS) – Our goal with Planet Zoo has always been to provide the ultimate zoo simulation, where unbound creativity meets realistic animals with their unique requirements and behaviours. All the while, we wanted to use this game and our love for animals to highlight the important conservation work zoos do for endangered species on our planet!

(JL) — I always felt like the goal was twofold, to create the most authentic zoo simulator that our players have huge creative power over, and to give the players realistic animals to fill that zoo with. But also, I’m a huge sucker for all the cute animals.

(ÖFA) – You have a special player base. What do you think about this?

(GW) – The Planet Zoo fans are incredible. They really have been the main driving force in keeping our game alive and we always look to them for new ideas on animals or features. They have really helped us to make Planet Zoo what it is today.

(KS)– What Gemma said! Continuing development on the game so long after launch has really enabled us to listen to tons of feedback and develop the game alongside our dedicated player base.

(JL) – We love our community! They are always amazing us with their creations and passion and are ultimately one of the most lovely and polite communities I’ve ever worked with. It really motivates us to keep providing more content and pushing our quality bars for them wherever we can.

(ÖFA) – Will the game continue to get richer? Or will a new game come?

(GW) – The team are currently focused on the success of our latest DLC, the Oceania Pack, as well as the brilliant response to our free anniversary update, so don’t have anything to announce.

(ÖFA) – Finally, is there any news/detail you would like to share with us?

(GW) – We have just celebrated out 4th anniversary of the game! To say thanks to all our players we have added the amazing Collared Peccary as a free update for players to enjoy, so be sure to jump in and add it to your zoos!

We wish all the best for Planet Zoo team!