I do wonder if after covering the 'big themes' they might decide to do smaller animal packs like they did with Jurassic World Evolution (or like the basic ride packs in Planet Coaster). The thought occurred to me as I was thinking about a potential Africa Pack; we already have a fairly well fleshed-out building set for Africa, so is there really any need to do another one? Sure, some areas are missing (North Africa especially is lacking in terms of architectural representation), but considering the only real missing pieces from Africa are animals, an animal-only pack might not be impossible. The question is of course whether they decide to go for more animals in this case, given that they can make more money that way, or less animals, since as we all know the animals are extremely difficult to make.
I firmly believe Frontier already has a roadmap, including what species they will eventually add to the game, with many of them probably already in the works (hence why both DLC packs have missed the mark on popularly-requested animals so far (the Arctic wolf instead of the much-wanted fox, and the lack of a capybara in the South America Pack which people have been asking for since launch) - I'm sure they would have added in the animals everyone was asking for if it had been an easy thing to do), so with that in mind, predicting how they plan on moving forward is no easy thing.
In terms of animals I think we're guaranteed to see, for me they include;
- Red Kangaroo.
- Black Rhinoceros (probably the Eastern subspecies).
The red kangaroo, while not the most commonly-kept zoo animal (the more docile and more easily-managed grey kangaroo is more common for zoos), has been in every zoo game and is the most instantly recognisable Australian native, so despite me personally preferring the grey kangaroo, I certainly think we'll get the red whenever an Australia Pack drops.
The black rhinoceros has also been in every major zoo game, is critically endangered (which fits the theme of the game), and in general the rhinoceros is a cornerstone of African animal collections in zoos (the southern white rhinoceros is more common in real life zoos, but the eastern black would be a good compromise to fulfil the need).
As for 'likely' future inclusions, it's difficult to say.
- Meerkat. As much as people seem to think it would be too small to include, I don't think this is the case at all. The pangolin is pretty tiny, and so is the capuchin. While both are bigger than the meerkat in real life, I think this shows that Frontier can go small if they want to, and I don't think any zoo collection is complete without the meerkat. So I think it is very likely we will see this one included at some point. They also added in the Compsognathus to JWE, which given the scale of that game seems far more absurd than adding the meerkat to Planet Zoo.
- Baboon. I won't predict specifically what species (though, IMO, the gelada seems likely, even if I think the hamadryas is the better choice), but I think this is another animal we are very likely to see one day. It's iconic for the African savannah, and many zoos keep baboons.
- American Alligator. For me this falls somewhere in between 'likely' and 'guaranteed'. It is by far the most commonly-kept crocodilian in zoo collections around the world, and is an iconic representation of North America's fauna, while still being different enough from the saltwater crocodile and the gharial to separate it from other 'clone' animals.
- Lynx. Whether it's the bobcat, the Eurasian, or the Iberian, I think we'll see a lynx before long to fulfil the 'small cat' need. I would like to see the serval or carcal (or both, in a perfect world) before the lynx, but I think the lynx is more likely as either part of a North America DLC or part of a Europe one.
- Moose. Although not hugely common in zoo collections, they have been a fixture of zoo games, and like the alligator they, too, are very iconic. I would not be surprised to see one before long.
I know this doesn't fit the format of the thread, but beyond 'Australia' I think it's anyone's guess as to how DLC will be handled in the future. While I agree that the four animal per pack pattern will continue, I also think Frontier will take into consideration the fact that people were disappointed by this number (whether you think that is justified or not) in the future. Whether this means they rush out an extra animal on the next DLC or shuffle around their roadmap to make it possible in the future I have no idea, but the feedback was certainly heard. Personally I think the quantity of content is fine for the price we are paying, but that's just me.
