Planet Coaster

Planet Coaster is a theme park tycoon where the fun is entirely in the layout. The simulation underneath is genuinely serious: guests arrive with needs, form groups, get lost, get angry, and eventually leave with a bad review that shows up in your notifications. You cannot ignore them. A park with great throughput and terrible guest flow will bleed you dry.

Frontier Developments has made the release history unusually easy to follow. Planet Coaster 2 arrived in 2023 as a full sequel rather than an expansion, and since then the two games have diverged: the original is in maintenance mode getting balance and stability work, while Planet Coaster 2 is where new rides, theming, and the guest management tool land first.

That split is the thing to watch on this page. A date attached to this profile is most likely a Planet Coaster 2 update, because that is where the substantive content is going. If you are still running the 2016 original on Xbox or PlayStation, you should expect smaller patches and should not read too much into a countdown attached to a sequel you do not own.

Worth knowing before you plan a park around a date: Frontier usually pairs major drops with free theme or ride packs, and those land on the same patch day rather than as a follow-up. If you are waiting on a specific ride, check the patch notes the morning it ships rather than assuming a separate date later in the month.