Is Planet Zoo multiplayer?

Looking for multiplayer in Planet Zoo? You aren't alone.

Image of two Red Pandas in Planet Zoo, one is standing in front of the other with arms up in the air held like its surrendering. There are bamboo stems behind the Red Panda's and a bright blue sky.
Screenshot via Planet Zoo on YouTube

In Planet Zoo, you have the freedom to create the zoo of your dreams, and many players are wondering whether the game has multiplayer functionality.

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The question isn’t as cut and dry as you might think, and there are a few important caveats to the answer. In this article, we’ll explain whether Planet Zoo has any multiplayer features so you can get back to designing your ideal zoo.

Does Planet Zoo have any multiplayer mode?

No, multiplayer isn’t a part of Planet Zoo. Having said that, there are online features involving other players. Even though you can’t build a zoo simultaneously with others, you can still take advantage of the online systems. There are two popular online features that are worth giving a shot:

  • The Frontier Workshop, allowing players to share zoo designs.
  • The animal trading system, which lets players browse and trade animals through the marketplace.

Frontier Workshop explained in Planet Zoo

The Frontier Workshop is a place where you can download other players’ zoo components and creations. This workshop also exists for the console edition, similar to Planet Coaster’s workshop. It’s essentially a form of indirect multiplayer, and it’s a great way to experiment with designs and creations you wouldn’t normally make yourself.

Image of an Iguana bathing on a tree trunk in Planet Zoo. There are vast amounts of greenery around the animal.
An Iguana’s life looks like a dream. Screenshot via Planet Zoo on YouTube

Animal trading explained in Planet Zoo

Animal trading does exactly it says on the tin. When you’re playing in Franchise mode, you can select certain animals from your zoo and put them up for adoption on the Animal Market. You need a Trade Center to do this, which costs $1,000 to build. You can also add lots of new animals to your zoo using the Trade Center. You can buy certain animals with normal cash and others with Conservation Credits instead.

Trading for animals isn’t cross-platform, however; you can’t get a PC player’s animal if you’re playing on PlayStation 5, for example.

Will there ever be a multiplayer mode for Planet Zoo?

At the time of writing, there seem to be no plans for Planet Zoo to get a multiplayer mode, and there aren’t any mods for the PC version that allow multiplayer, either.

Planet Zoo’s weekly community challenges are a nice way to connect with other zoo builders, though it still lacks the true multiplayer feeling that comes from co-op gameplay.

Author
Image of Gordon Bicker
Gordon Bicker
Gordon is a contributing writer for Dot Esports, Attack of the Fanboy, a Games Design (BA) Honours student, and a Video Game Ambassador. He has been writing at AOTF for two years, with four years of games writing experience for outlets like Green Man Gaming. When he's not busy, he'll no doubt be experiencing games, writing poetry, adventuring, or happily starting a new Skyrim playthrough! Gordon's favorite genres include action RPGs, MMORPG's, and First Person Shooters but is always experimenting with many other types of games.