Hayo zookeepers!
Today marks one year since Planet Zoo launched, and what a wonderful year it has been! We've travelled to stunning new locations, met some iconic animals and been blown away by the love from our PlanZo Fam. It's been incredible to see all of the blueprints, parks, screenshots, and videos shared by our community. We've been so thrilled to have you on this journey with us, and we hope you've been enjoying it just as much as we have!
Our PlanZo Fam has been with us every step of the way, and we're thankful to have you with us. We've been so inspired by everything you've been doing in Planet Zoo, and love seeing you come together every announcement and update, every livestream and video short, and, of course, on our forums. Thank you for joining us for this adventure.
To celebrate the first anniversary, we have revisited three Community Challenge avatar costumes: African Elephant, Rhino and Orangutan. If you hadn't previously earned them by taking part, they will now be available in your inventory. We hope you have been enjoying a fun day on our socials today, hearing some Anniversary Facts, and taking part in giveaways.
The Planet Zoo developers have been working hard over the last year, to bring the wild to your PCs. They'd like to share a few words with you on what Planet Zoo, and the PlanZo Fam, have meant to them:
"My favourite memory has been seeing all the community feedback come in, especially when we first launched. Thank you for believing in us, and for keeping the Planet Zoo community alive. I've been thankful for our understanding and awesome Producers, (shoutout to Steve!)." - UI Programmer Jay Chua.
"It's been so cool to see what the community have done with the assets I've worked on. The Planet Zoo development team are great, and to the community: thank you for supporting us, and I can't wait to see what else you all build!" - Assistant Outsource Producer Metin Kolsuk.
"Since we launched Planet Zoo, it's been awesome seeing how the community have engaged with the game, creating amazing parks, embracing Franchise Mode, sharing their awesome creations, and helping us shape the evolution of the game. Thank you for being so active, engaged, and enthusiastic." - Online Services Lead Developer Jonny Cook.
"Thank you for making such incredible structures using the assets the team has designed for you, the community! It's been great seeing how excited you all get when we announce and launch a new update, and DLC!" - Material Artist Stefan Oprisan.
"I've been grateful for the animation team that I get to work with every day! We have great Leads who are very conscious of what skills everyone wants to develop, and every animator brings a unique angle to their work! Getting to work with them is inspiring and motivational! Seeing the amazing community creations that you have made with Planet Zoo is incredible! It's rewarding for us to see. Please keep making all the awesome content that you do and we're super glad that you're enjoying the game!" - Senior Animator Josh Shepherd.
"From a dev perspective, my favourite memory was seeing the Llama's strutting their stuff. It has been good to hear the community feedback on the UI experience, as it's allowed us to polish it for you all. I'd like to add, my favourite community blueprints has been the DidgeriZoo by PaulsLey!" - UI Designer Aaron Rawlinson.
"Thank you to all our community! I am continually amazed by all the wonderful zoos and creations you're all building, keep up the good work! My favourite memory since launch has been this dog. And my favourite community blueprint? The Tudor Toilets by Silv!" - Principal Technical Animator Luke Maskell.
"I would like to say a huge thank you to every last member of our community. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be able to keep working on a game we are all so passionate about. It's been great to have the help and support of the entire dev team, but also the support that was shown from you all. I have, honestly, far too many favourite community blueprints to count, but I recently discovered "Heartbeat" Reptile World by Rahoor, and I love the architecture in that blueprint!" - Designer Darren Williams.
"For me, it was around the launch when I saw the Hyena, one of the animals under me, receive so much attention. There was so much to wrangle with them - the thing with working on animals is you learn so much about them you never realised. The Hyena was a research project and a half in that regard, but getting it right made a lot of people happy, so I'd say it was worth it. I hope everyone can enjoy the love we've put into the animals that are in the game." - 3D Animator Kai Cheng.
"My favourite memory since launch has to be the release of the Arctic Pack, I love a big chunky happy Polar Bear. The team did a fantastic job with the new scenery pieces and I had a blast playing through the new scenarios. I'm grateful for the assistance players have provided when narrowing down tricky issues. Thank you for giving concise and informative reproduction steps, and for providing your zoo saves when asked. It makes all the difference and helps us get an update out much faster. My favourite blueprint is the Dragon Skeleton Cave Shelter by Sommy, I use it in every zoo I create." - QA Manager Laura Massey.
"Planet Zoo is the first project I've worked on as a Concept Artist, so I am grateful for everything Planet Zoo, the team, and the community has taught and done for me. Don't ever get discouraged when you see another person's zoo, remember that yours is great because you made it, and as long as you had fun, then you did a good job! I love the Green Path Tunnel/Archway/Arbour by Ta-Liland, it's awesome when people get creative with what they have on hand." - Concept Artist Connor Laffey.
"I enjoyed bringing the Polar Bear to life with its incredible vocalisations! It's great seeing everything you, the community, create, and your excitement for the animals. It makes what we do worth it." - Senior Sound Designer Benjamin Scholey.
"It's been awesome to see people go crazy on YouTube, building things that I would never have had the patience to think of, let alone build! My favourite community blueprint would be the Playground Pirate Ship by Pelientje!" - Tools Programmer Martin Kruger.
"I loved seeing people react to the Keeper Staff as they call to the animals in Planco to let them know that their dinner is ready! e.g. "Marp temm!" (Mealtime!). It was such a small detail, but it went a long way towards making the animals and staff feel connected. I'm grateful that our community shares our positivity and enthusiasm, whether that be for the larger features added with major updates and content packs, or the smaller quality-of-life improvements that go a long way towards making the experience more enjoyable and intuitive. Thank you for continuing to share your workshop items; it means that so many people (who prefer to utilise pre-made creations) can enjoy making and running beautiful parks! I am a big fan of the Pirate Ship Sanctuary by Jurre! The shipwreck is amazing, and the blues/whites of the icy scene just look gorgeous!" - Senior Audio Designer James Stant.
"I love that Marc Cox, our Art Director, continues to send out Flora and Fauna Facts to the whole team every single week! He's done this every week from the beginning of development! Marc's commitment goes to show the level of involvement, research and dedication that runs through the entire development team all day, every day! Thanks for embracing this game for all it has to offer. It's an incredibly detailed process and a massive undertaking to deliver a game of such quality from all areas of development. We are always elated to see how much love the community has for Planet Zoo as we continue to enjoy providing you with new updates and content for you to enjoy!" - Senior Environment Artist Joanne Taylor.
"I think the ever-flowing bear poop glitch someone put on Reddit had me giggling like a kid again. We had quite a laugh playing around and looking for the issue in the office. Other than that, each release is always super exciting to see what amazing habitats people create with the new tools and animals they get! Keep making the mind-blowing creations - you manage that exceed my expectations all the time! And keep giving us feedback and information that helps us improve! I'm very partial to unique old-timey zoo art feel so the Animal Head Mural by Jynn deserves a shoutout, as a long time favourite of mine." - Senior Programmer James Lockett.
"My favourite memory has to be the moment all the animal behaviour came together for the first time, and we watched Zebras herding. I'm thankful to random people who post videos of animals pooping in zoos. You do the hard work so we don't have to! Seriously the amount of footage that can answer obscure questions is incredible. To the community, I'd like to say: it puts a huge smile on my face every time I see someone says this is their favourite game." - Senior Designer David Bamber.
"I have had multiple favourite memories since launch, and they're all to do with whenever we announce an update! I love seeing the PlanZo Fam's reactions to all the devs hard work, and it has been my absolute pleasure to deliver news to the community, and feedback to the devs. Thanks for being such a wonderful community, and being so patient with us while we work to bring you updates we know you'll thoroughly enjoy. Planet Zoo was my first ever game launch, and I'm happy I got to do it with all of you." - Community Manager Chanté Goodman.
We're still working hard on Planet Zoo, so please keep an eye on our forums and other official channels for any announcements! We're looking forward to showing you what we've been working on soon!
Today marks one year since Planet Zoo launched, and what a wonderful year it has been! We've travelled to stunning new locations, met some iconic animals and been blown away by the love from our PlanZo Fam. It's been incredible to see all of the blueprints, parks, screenshots, and videos shared by our community. We've been so thrilled to have you on this journey with us, and we hope you've been enjoying it just as much as we have!
Our PlanZo Fam has been with us every step of the way, and we're thankful to have you with us. We've been so inspired by everything you've been doing in Planet Zoo, and love seeing you come together every announcement and update, every livestream and video short, and, of course, on our forums. Thank you for joining us for this adventure.
To celebrate the first anniversary, we have revisited three Community Challenge avatar costumes: African Elephant, Rhino and Orangutan. If you hadn't previously earned them by taking part, they will now be available in your inventory. We hope you have been enjoying a fun day on our socials today, hearing some Anniversary Facts, and taking part in giveaways.
The Planet Zoo developers have been working hard over the last year, to bring the wild to your PCs. They'd like to share a few words with you on what Planet Zoo, and the PlanZo Fam, have meant to them:
"My favourite memory has been seeing all the community feedback come in, especially when we first launched. Thank you for believing in us, and for keeping the Planet Zoo community alive. I've been thankful for our understanding and awesome Producers, (shoutout to Steve!)." - UI Programmer Jay Chua.
"It's been so cool to see what the community have done with the assets I've worked on. The Planet Zoo development team are great, and to the community: thank you for supporting us, and I can't wait to see what else you all build!" - Assistant Outsource Producer Metin Kolsuk.
"Since we launched Planet Zoo, it's been awesome seeing how the community have engaged with the game, creating amazing parks, embracing Franchise Mode, sharing their awesome creations, and helping us shape the evolution of the game. Thank you for being so active, engaged, and enthusiastic." - Online Services Lead Developer Jonny Cook.
"Thank you for making such incredible structures using the assets the team has designed for you, the community! It's been great seeing how excited you all get when we announce and launch a new update, and DLC!" - Material Artist Stefan Oprisan.
"I've been grateful for the animation team that I get to work with every day! We have great Leads who are very conscious of what skills everyone wants to develop, and every animator brings a unique angle to their work! Getting to work with them is inspiring and motivational! Seeing the amazing community creations that you have made with Planet Zoo is incredible! It's rewarding for us to see. Please keep making all the awesome content that you do and we're super glad that you're enjoying the game!" - Senior Animator Josh Shepherd.
"From a dev perspective, my favourite memory was seeing the Llama's strutting their stuff. It has been good to hear the community feedback on the UI experience, as it's allowed us to polish it for you all. I'd like to add, my favourite community blueprints has been the DidgeriZoo by PaulsLey!" - UI Designer Aaron Rawlinson.
"Thank you to all our community! I am continually amazed by all the wonderful zoos and creations you're all building, keep up the good work! My favourite memory since launch has been this dog. And my favourite community blueprint? The Tudor Toilets by Silv!" - Principal Technical Animator Luke Maskell.
"I would like to say a huge thank you to every last member of our community. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be able to keep working on a game we are all so passionate about. It's been great to have the help and support of the entire dev team, but also the support that was shown from you all. I have, honestly, far too many favourite community blueprints to count, but I recently discovered "Heartbeat" Reptile World by Rahoor, and I love the architecture in that blueprint!" - Designer Darren Williams.
"For me, it was around the launch when I saw the Hyena, one of the animals under me, receive so much attention. There was so much to wrangle with them - the thing with working on animals is you learn so much about them you never realised. The Hyena was a research project and a half in that regard, but getting it right made a lot of people happy, so I'd say it was worth it. I hope everyone can enjoy the love we've put into the animals that are in the game." - 3D Animator Kai Cheng.
"My favourite memory since launch has to be the release of the Arctic Pack, I love a big chunky happy Polar Bear. The team did a fantastic job with the new scenery pieces and I had a blast playing through the new scenarios. I'm grateful for the assistance players have provided when narrowing down tricky issues. Thank you for giving concise and informative reproduction steps, and for providing your zoo saves when asked. It makes all the difference and helps us get an update out much faster. My favourite blueprint is the Dragon Skeleton Cave Shelter by Sommy, I use it in every zoo I create." - QA Manager Laura Massey.
"Planet Zoo is the first project I've worked on as a Concept Artist, so I am grateful for everything Planet Zoo, the team, and the community has taught and done for me. Don't ever get discouraged when you see another person's zoo, remember that yours is great because you made it, and as long as you had fun, then you did a good job! I love the Green Path Tunnel/Archway/Arbour by Ta-Liland, it's awesome when people get creative with what they have on hand." - Concept Artist Connor Laffey.
"I enjoyed bringing the Polar Bear to life with its incredible vocalisations! It's great seeing everything you, the community, create, and your excitement for the animals. It makes what we do worth it." - Senior Sound Designer Benjamin Scholey.
"It's been awesome to see people go crazy on YouTube, building things that I would never have had the patience to think of, let alone build! My favourite community blueprint would be the Playground Pirate Ship by Pelientje!" - Tools Programmer Martin Kruger.
"I loved seeing people react to the Keeper Staff as they call to the animals in Planco to let them know that their dinner is ready! e.g. "Marp temm!" (Mealtime!). It was such a small detail, but it went a long way towards making the animals and staff feel connected. I'm grateful that our community shares our positivity and enthusiasm, whether that be for the larger features added with major updates and content packs, or the smaller quality-of-life improvements that go a long way towards making the experience more enjoyable and intuitive. Thank you for continuing to share your workshop items; it means that so many people (who prefer to utilise pre-made creations) can enjoy making and running beautiful parks! I am a big fan of the Pirate Ship Sanctuary by Jurre! The shipwreck is amazing, and the blues/whites of the icy scene just look gorgeous!" - Senior Audio Designer James Stant.
"I love that Marc Cox, our Art Director, continues to send out Flora and Fauna Facts to the whole team every single week! He's done this every week from the beginning of development! Marc's commitment goes to show the level of involvement, research and dedication that runs through the entire development team all day, every day! Thanks for embracing this game for all it has to offer. It's an incredibly detailed process and a massive undertaking to deliver a game of such quality from all areas of development. We are always elated to see how much love the community has for Planet Zoo as we continue to enjoy providing you with new updates and content for you to enjoy!" - Senior Environment Artist Joanne Taylor.
"I think the ever-flowing bear poop glitch someone put on Reddit had me giggling like a kid again. We had quite a laugh playing around and looking for the issue in the office. Other than that, each release is always super exciting to see what amazing habitats people create with the new tools and animals they get! Keep making the mind-blowing creations - you manage that exceed my expectations all the time! And keep giving us feedback and information that helps us improve! I'm very partial to unique old-timey zoo art feel so the Animal Head Mural by Jynn deserves a shoutout, as a long time favourite of mine." - Senior Programmer James Lockett.
"My favourite memory has to be the moment all the animal behaviour came together for the first time, and we watched Zebras herding. I'm thankful to random people who post videos of animals pooping in zoos. You do the hard work so we don't have to! Seriously the amount of footage that can answer obscure questions is incredible. To the community, I'd like to say: it puts a huge smile on my face every time I see someone says this is their favourite game." - Senior Designer David Bamber.
"I have had multiple favourite memories since launch, and they're all to do with whenever we announce an update! I love seeing the PlanZo Fam's reactions to all the devs hard work, and it has been my absolute pleasure to deliver news to the community, and feedback to the devs. Thanks for being such a wonderful community, and being so patient with us while we work to bring you updates we know you'll thoroughly enjoy. Planet Zoo was my first ever game launch, and I'm happy I got to do it with all of you." - Community Manager Chanté Goodman.
We're still working hard on Planet Zoo, so please keep an eye on our forums and other official channels for any announcements! We're looking forward to showing you what we've been working on soon!
