Planet Zoo 2 Deluxe Edition: Is It Worth It?

What the Deluxe Edition Includes

The Deluxe Edition bundles the Planet Zoo 2 base game with the Deluxe Upgrade Pack. According to the official store listings on Steam, Epic Games Store, and PlayStation Store, the pack adds six additional animal species from across the globe plus a selection of exclusive animal signs to decorate your park.

All six species are confirmed and publicly listed on Frontier’s official Zoopedia, so unlike many pre-launch upgrade packs, you can evaluate exactly what you are paying for before spending anything.

The Six Deluxe Species

The Deluxe Upgrade Pack covers one headline animal from each major habitat type in the game — terrestrial, aviary, aquarium, and exhibit:

Species	Scientific name	Habitat type	Conservation status
Golden Eagle	Aquila chrysaetos	Aviary	Least concern
Golden Lion Tamarin	Leontopithecus rosalia	Terrestrial	Endangered
Great Hammerhead	Sphyrna mokarran	Aquarium	Critically endangered
Axolotl	Ambystoma mexicanum	Exhibit	Critically endangered
Blue and Gold Fusilier	Caesio teres	Aquarium	Least concern
Longfin Batfish	Platax pinnatus	Aquarium	Least concern

A few things stand out in this list. Three of the six are aquatic animals, which makes the pack especially attractive if you plan to build out the aquarium systems early — see our aquatic animals guide for what that involves. The Golden Eagle adds a flagship aviary species; our flying birds and aviary guide covers how aviaries work. And the Axolotl, a critically endangered amphibian, is an exhibit animal, giving the pack at least one low-footprint species that fits in even a small starting zoo.

What Each Deluxe Animal Brings to Your Zoo

Beyond the checklist, the six species meaningfully stretch the early-game building systems:

• Golden Eagle. One of the largest birds confirmed for launch. It demands a spacious aviary with elevated perches — a natural centerpiece for a mountain or cliff-themed area. Its Least Concern status also makes it an easy conservation-breeding win for newer players.
• Golden Lion Tamarin. A small, arboreal primate that shows off the climbing and enrichment systems. Tamarins live in family groups, so expect to build social habitat space rather than a single-animal enclosure.
• Great Hammerhead. The pack’s showstopper: a critically endangered shark that requires a large custom aquarium with open water volume. It is the strongest argument for the Deluxe tier if an ocean tank is your endgame goal.
• Axolotl. An exhibit vivarium species — no habitat construction needed, just a climate-controlled glass case. Ideal for filling educational corners near your zoo entrance.
• Blue and Gold Fusilier. A fast-swimming schooling fish. Schools are what make aquariums feel alive, and a shoal of fusiliers turns a modest reef tank into a guest magnet.
• Longfin Batfish. A tall, disc-shaped reef fish that pairs visually with the fusilier in the same display, and reads well in multi-tier viewing tanks.

Together the six species touch four different husbandry systems — terrestrial habitats, aviaries, aquariums, and exhibits — which is why the pack feels like a sampler of everything Planet Zoo 2 does differently from its predecessor.

Deluxe Edition FAQ

Can I upgrade from Standard to Deluxe later? Yes. The Deluxe Upgrade Pack is sold separately for existing base-game owners and unlocks the same six species and signs. Nothing in the pack is exclusive to launch-day purchases.

Are the Deluxe animals locked behind gameplay? No. Like all animals in the game, they are available to place from the start of a zoo, subject to the usual research and welfare mechanics that apply to every species.

Do the Deluxe animals appear in Franchise mode? Frontier has treated edition content as available across all modes in its previous titles, but for Planet Zoo 2 specifics we defer to the official store page — check the current listing before buying for a specific mode.

Will the Deluxe species ever be sold individually? There is no confirmed plan either way. Frontier has not announced individual species sales for Planet Zoo 2, so the Upgrade Pack is currently the only route to the six bonus animals.

Exclusive Animal Signs

Alongside the animals, the Deluxe Upgrade Pack includes a set of exclusive animal signs. These are decorative signage pieces for your habitats and park paths — a cosmetic bonus rather than gameplay content. Frontier has not published a full gallery of every sign design, so check the official store page screenshots for the current visual set.

The Preorder Bonus Is Separate

One point that causes confusion: the Bonus Content Pack advertised with preorders is a separate promotion, not part of the Deluxe Upgrade Pack. It contains the Toucan Eat Shop and signage, three unique animal donation bins, and a Tiger photo stand-in wall. These are scenery and guest items — no animals are included. Preordering any edition (Standard or Deluxe) granted this pack; it is not another animal pack and does not provide early access to the game.

Standard vs. Deluxe Comparison

	Standard Edition	Deluxe Edition
Price	$49.99	$64.99
Planet Zoo 2 base game	✅	✅
Launch animal roster	✅ (full base roster)	✅ (full base roster)
Six Deluxe species	❌	✅
Exclusive animal signs	❌	✅
Bonus Content Pack (preorder)	With preorder	With preorder

Already bought Standard and having second thoughts? The Deluxe Upgrade Pack is sold separately and requires only the base game — you do not need to rebuy anything.

Is the Deluxe Edition Worth It?

Buy Deluxe if: you know you will build aquariums and aviaries in your first parks, you want the Axolotl or Golden Lion Tamarin on day one, or you simply like having the complete launch roster. At $15 for six species plus signage, it is cheaper per animal than any expansion Frontier sold for the original Planet Zoo.

Stick with Standard if: you are new to management sims and might bounce off the game, you mainly care about the big terrestrial mammals, or you would rather put the $15 toward a future DLC pack themed around a region you love.

There is no wrong answer here — both editions contain the full core game, all game modes, and the complete building toolset. The Deluxe species are a shortcut to variety, not a power advantage. For everything the launch version includes, check the full animal list and our update tracker, which logs any post-launch changes to editions and content. You can also follow how the roster was announced in our animal reveals tracker.