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Frontier Developments Disney Game Will Build on Its Management Sim Expertise
If there is one thing Frontier Developments knows how to do, it is give players a large empty space and enough tools to lose an entire weekend filling it. The British studio has built much of its modern reputation around Creative Management Simulation games such as Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo and the Jurassic World Evolution series.
Now it has access to something considerably larger. Frontier has entered into an agreement with Disney to develop and publish a new game that draws on the entertainment company’s extensive intellectual property.
The project will be fully funded by Frontier, with CEO Jo Cooke describing it as another step in the studio’s strategy to build and maintain major Creative Management Simulation franchises. What Frontier has not told us is which part of the enormous catalogue it plans to use.
Is Frontier Making a Disney Theme Park Simulator?
That missing detail creates one particularly obvious possibility. Frontier is the studio behind Planet Coaster and Planet Coaster 2, games built around designing attractions, laying out parks and managing everything from queues to guest happiness.
Disney, meanwhile, happens to operate some rather famous theme parks. Neither company has confirmed that the project involves Disneyland, Walt Disney World or theme parks at all. The agreement only specifies that Frontier’s new game will draw on Disney’s IP portfolio and build on the developer’s Creative Management Simulation expertise.
Still, the combination makes the speculation difficult to ignore. A Disney management game could potentially draw upon theme parks, individual franchises or even multiple properties under the company’s umbrella, depending on how broad Frontier’s licence eventually proves to be.
There is some history between the two companies too. Frontier previously developed Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, the 2011 game that recreated Disneyland and several of its attractions as an explorable virtual park. This new project, however, appears considerably more aligned with the management simulations that now define Frontier.
Frontier Has Another New Planet Game in Development
The Disney project is also separate from another mystery title already underway at Frontier. In June, the studio confirmed that it is developing a new original-IP Creative Management Simulation intended to establish another Planet franchise, following the success of Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo.
That project is currently planned as part of Frontier’s FY28 pipeline, but the developer has yet to reveal its name, setting or central management concept.
Having both games in development reinforces just how heavily Frontier is leaning into the genre after its recent financial turnaround. The company reported record adjusted operating profit for FY26, with its renewed focus on management simulations credited as a major part of that performance.
Planet Zoo 2 Arrives First
Before either mystery project emerges, Frontier has a much more immediate management problem for players to solve. Planet Zoo 2 launches on October 13 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, introducing aquatic and flying animals alongside new conservation systems and Wildlife Reserves.
Frontier has not announced a release window, platforms or even a title for its Disney collaboration. For now, all we know is that the studio responsible for one of gaming’s biggest theme park simulators has been handed access to Disney’s IP catalogue.
The obvious conclusion may ultimately prove completely wrong, but it is difficult not to start imagining what Frontier could do with the keys to Disneyland.
