What should you build first in Planet Zoo 2?
Frontier’s 5-minute Opening Your First Zoo video, published October 8, covers the steps below. Step names and times are the video’s own chapters; the notes come from Frontier’s Managing a Zoo feature.
| Step | What to do | Video |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Know the three networks | Guest infrastructure, staff infrastructure and animal infrastructure each need their own buildings | 0:29–0:51 |
| 2. Build a path | Connect the entrance to where your first habitats will go | 0:57 |
| 3. Add foliage | Guests and staff both prefer a scenic zoo | 1:08 |
| 4. Guests and shops | Food, drink, toilets and places to rest | 1:18 |
| 5. Power the buildings | Facilities need power to run | 1:47 |
| 6. Staff and animal facilities | Buildings for keepers and vets, plus water for habitats from filters and pumps | 1:57 |
| 7. Hire staff | Fill the jobs your facilities need | 2:41 |
| 8. Adopt animals | Bring in your first species | 3:07 |
| 9. Perfect the habitats | Match each animal’s terrain, plants, space and enrichment | 3:32 |
| 10. Homes for exhibit species | Small animals such as insects and frogs live in exhibits | 4:10 |
| 11. Open the gates | Start admitting guests | 4:37 |
What do guests need?
- Toilets, food and drink, and places to rest. Unhappy guests leave early or ask for a refund.
- A good view of the animals, balanced with places animals can hide to avoid stress.
- Education: Educators giving Animal Talks, education boards, speakers, web cams and tours.
- Good animal welfare. Poor welfare can bring protesters who upset other guests.
Which staff do you need?
Keep them happy with training, fair pay and manageable workloads, or they quit. Work Zones let you split a big zoo into areas for each team.
| Role | Job |
|---|---|
| Keeper | Feeds and cares for animals |
| Vet | Treats sick animals and does research |
| Caretaker | Keeps the zoo clean |
| Mechanic | Maintains facilities and habitats |
| Vendor | Serves at shops and restaurants |
| Educator | Gives talks to guests |
Which building tools save the most time?
- Path tools: line and curve builder, draw tool, stamp builder for ready-made plazas, and border edit.
- The new nature brush paints foliage and rocks in one go instead of placing them one by one.
- Ready-made blueprints from Frontier, plus Workshop blueprints from other players.
- For aquariums and aviaries, see the aquarium guide and the aviary guide.
What comes after opening day?
Money, research and reputation. The details are in the Planet Zoo 2 management guide.
Sources & verification
- Planet Zoo 2 on YouTube: “Opening Your First Zoo” (5:22), October 8, 2026Official · 2026-10-11
- Frontier on Steam: “Planet Zoo 2 | Opening Your First Zoo”, October 8, 2026Official · 2026-10-11
- Frontier on Steam: “Creature Feature: Managing a Zoo”, September 23, 2026Official · 2026-10-11
- Planet Zoo 2 news: “Creature Feature: Creative Tools”, August 20, 2026Official · 2026-10-11
- Planet Zoo 2 on YouTube: “Zoological Summit – Live from Chester Zoo” (4:49:05), September 12, 2026Official · 2026-10-11