Planet Coaster studio Frontier says it’s working on a Disney game in the same ‘management sim’ genre
The studio has released seven theme park management sims over the years
Frontier Developments has announced that it’s working on a new game featuring the Disney licence.
Frontier is best known for what it calls the ‘creative management sim’ genre, which means games where the player runs an attraction – such as a theme park – by designing its look and layout, while also managing its finances.
The studio’s recent successes have included the Planet Coaster games, Planet Zoo (and its sequel coming next month) and the Jurassic World Evolution trilogy.
Now it says it’s teaming up with Disney to create a game in the same genre, “which will draw on Disney’s iconic portfolio of IP”.
Neither Frontier nor Disney has shed more detail on what this new game may entail, but speculation has already started to build that it may be a theme park simulation game using rides and scenery from Disney theme parks.
Frontier previously worked with Disney for the 2011 Xbox 360 game Disneyland Adventures, which was praised for its recreation of the original Disneyland park in Anaheim, California.
Rather than a theme park management game, however, Disneyland Adventures had players exploring the park, meeting the characters there, carrying out fetch quests and playing mini-games based on the rides.
For this new game, Frontier stresses that it “will build upon the company’s extensive experience and proven capabilities as a leader in the creative management simulation genre”, and cites Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, Jurassic World Evolution and an unannounced Planet game as previous examples, suggesting it will play more like those.
“We are delighted to announce this collaboration with Disney, which further reinforces our clearly defined strategy of developing and nurturing world-class creative management simulation game franchises,” Frontier CEO Jo Cooke said in a statement.
“Our mission with this game is to connect a passionate creative community of players with one of the world’s most iconic and beloved brands, and I can’t wait to see what our talented teams will create with this amazing opportunity.”
Frontier has been involved with theme park simulation games ever since it developed a port of RollerCoaster Tycoon for the original Xbox.
The studio also developed the Wacky Worlds and Time Twister expansion packs for RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, before leading on development on RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and its expansions.
It was also responsible for Thrillville and Thrillville: Off the Rails, Screamride and mobile game Coaster Crazy, before launched Planet Coaster in 2016 and its sequel Planet Coaster 2 in 2024.
