Planet Zoo and Planet Coaster developers Frontier have a new Planet game in development that involves neither zoos nor rollercoasters, a scandalous turn of events. The project features a "completely new setting", in fact, though it'll still be some kind of strategy management game.

"We've started work on a brand-new Planet Game franchise, which has all the familiarity you love about the Planet series, but a completely new setting for us than Planet Coaster or Planet Zoo, one which still combines our love for creativity, management, and meaningful simulation," enthuses head of player engagement Richard Stephenson in a Discord post, preserved on Reddit.

I myself was totally unaware that it was possible to set things on planets that aren't themeparks or collections of caged animals. Strange new horizons, indeed. As I gaze from my apartment window, the possibilities threaten to overwhelm me. How about, er, Planet Man Walking Dog? Or Planet Hole Dug By Squirrel?

Presumably the new Planet game won't be a dinosaur game, a spaceship game, a racing game or a game set in the Grim Darkness of the Far Future. Looking at it in terms of portfolio diversity, Frontier surely have those bases covered with Jurassic World Evolution, Elite Dangerous, F1 Manager and Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin.

As regards when we'll hear more, GameWatcher point to a relevant line in Frontier's latest earnings report, specifying that "a new own-IP CMS [construction and management simulation] game is confirmed for FY28". That's more than enough time to catch up on Nate Crowley's (RPS in peace) series of comedic writings about Planet Zoo. Start with the ostrich, then check out the warthogs, then finish off with Nate's "grim facsimile of HBO's Deadwood". Nate, where are you? Please come back.