If you've been suffering with those Planet Zoo next update blues and wondering when new content is coming, don't worry. Planet Zoo update 1.7 lands this October and adds new map shaping tools, extra features for your zoo, and plenty more.
What will Planet Zoo update 1.7 add?
This Planet Zoo update is aiming to add some much-requested features to the game. First up, you're getting some brand new terrain mapping tools. As well as the heightmaps revealed in last week's dev diary, Frontier is also adding a new Terrain Type option called "Sculpted". There's one Sculpted option per biome; Frontier doesn't want to spoil them, but does tease a desert map with a mountain as its central feature, similar to Australia's Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock). Scenario Zoo maps are now also available in Sandbox Mode, which is perfect if you want to take on a Scenario terrain but still want to start your zoo from scratch.
Following on from Planet Zoo update 1.6, in which bears got the ability to swim, several new animals are getting the Deep Swimming trait in update 1.7. The Jaguar, Bengal Tiger, and Siberian Tiger will all now take the chance to go swimming if you put water in their enclosure, so be sure to give them some and watch your furry friends splash about. Frontier is also making some changes to swimming depth requirements, allowing for smooth diving transitions. New minimum depth requirements will range from 2m to 4m, so make sure you know what depth your animal wants.
Animal Talks are getting some love in update 1.7 as well. Frontier is adding new seating arrangements that you can directly link to Talks, giving your guests somewhere to sit while they listen. These new seating areas will be joined by Path Barriers, which will stop guests walking on certain parts of the path, allowing you to direct traffic more effectively. There's also a new scenery randomization feature, as well as some quality-of-life changes to the Zoopedia. Suffice it to say you'll have plenty of reasons to dive back in if you're a lapsed Planet Zoo player, and plenty to keep you going if you're still keeping your animals happy.
When is the Planet Zoo update 1.7 release date?
You won't have long to check out all of these new features, as the Planet Zoo update 1.7 release date is October 4th. This update doesn't seem to be accompanied by any paid animal DLC, unlike previous updates. Planet Zoo updates seem to launch at roughly three-month intervals; June brought update 1.6 with it, while Planet Zoo update 1.5 launched back in March, following on from December's update 1.4. With that in mind, we can probably expect the next Planet Zoo update to launch sometime in December or January, so watch this space for more info on that.
It's well worth reading through the full Planet Zoo update 1.7 changelog if you want to see all of the new features coming in next month's update. In the meantime, you can pick up Planet Zoo on PC via Steam. It'll set you back $44.99 and should be perfect for preparing you for Frontier's new animal management sim Jurassic World Evolution 2, which was announced at Summer Game Fest earlier this year.
Are you excited for the new Planet Zoo update? Let us know in the comments below!
