Frontier Developments released Planet Zoo on 5 November 2019 with 73 animals in the base game, well past the 50 originally promised. Four modes ship together: Career, Franchise, Challenge and Sandbox, with Franchise running on Conservation Credits earned by releasing well bred animals back to the wild. Career runs 12 scenarios, opening at Goodwin House and closing at the Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo in Upper Bay, New York.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Goodwin House | Welfare from nutrition, social and suitability basics | Asia | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Panda Park | Conservation Credits from releasing animals mastery | Asia | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Maple Leaf Wildlife Park | Research at the Research Centre + gear | Africa or Asia | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Great Caldera Safari Park | Build optimization | Africa | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo | Min-max | Africa or Australia | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Goodwin House)
The opening Career scenario, Stately Home Schooling, built around the Goodwin family estate. It teaches habitat construction, staff hiring and guest paths one objective at a time.
Level/Difficulty: Career scenario 1, tutorial Key Rewards: Core building tutorial, first animal handling, introduction to the Goodwin story
What to Do in Goodwin House
- Learn Welfare from nutrition, social and suitability. Each animal scores welfare from access to food and water, social health covering group size and sex balance, and habitat suitability covering terrain types, temperature, plant cover and enrichment. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Asia as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Research enrichment tiers before you buy expensive animals. A species sitting in a habitat with tier one enrichment will never reach acceptable welfare, and welfare drives everything from breeding to Conservation Credits.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Veterinarian or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Welfare from nutrition, social and suitability fundamentals
- Asia selected and functional
- Goodwin House main content cleared
- Ready for Panda Park
Phase 2: Early Game (Panda Park)
The third tutorial scenario, Bear Essentials, centred on giant pandas. Pandas are demanding on habitat and breeding, which makes them a pointed lesson in welfare before the campaign opens up.
Level/Difficulty: Career scenario 3, tutorial Key Rewards: Breeding and welfare tutorial, research introduction, conservation basics
What to Do in Panda Park
- Work on Conservation Credits from releasing animals. Releasing an animal to the wild converts it into Conservation Credits, the currency Franchise mode is built on. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Veterinarian if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Draw keeper work zones tightly around two or three neighbouring habitats. A keeper assigned across the whole zoo spends most of the day walking rather than feeding.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Maple Leaf Wildlife Park.
- Consider whether Africa might suit your playstyle better than Asia.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Conservation Credits from releasing animals integrated into gameplay
- Veterinarian acquired
- Panda Park fully cleared
- Ready for Maple Leaf Wildlife Park
Phase 3: Mid Game (Maple Leaf Wildlife Park)
The Eye of the Taiga scenario in Canada, bordering Candy Lake. Cold climate species and taiga terrain replace the temperate defaults of the tutorials.
Level/Difficulty: Career scenario 4 Key Rewards: Cold biome practice, larger budget management, first non tutorial objectives
What to Do in Maple Leaf Wildlife Park
- Master Research at the Research Centre. Vets research animal species and mechanics research facilities and habitat items, both from a powered Research Centre with access to the relevant habitat. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Zookeeper. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- Donation bins placed at habitat viewing areas earn more than most shops of the same footprint, because educated guests donate more. Pair every viewing platform with a bin and an education board.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Barriers and terrain shaping for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Research at the Research Centre mastered
- Zookeeper acquired or in progress
- Maple Leaf Wildlife Park fully cleared
- Ready for Great Caldera Safari Park
Phase 4: Late Game (Great Caldera Safari Park)
The Go to Crater Lengths scenario, an African safari park built in and around a crater. Terrain constraints force layouts that do not work anywhere else in the campaign.
Level/Difficulty: Career scenario 5 Key Rewards: Safari layout practice, African species roster, terrain problem solving
What to Do in Great Caldera Safari Park
- Finalize your build. You should be running Africa or Asia with optimized gear.
- Zookeeper should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Check the barrier a species can defeat before you build. Climbing, jumping, digging and strength are tested separately, and an escaped animal is almost always a barrier chosen without reading those numbers.
- Guest education and donation bins optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Zookeeper upgraded to max
- Great Caldera Safari Park fully cleared
- Ready for Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo
Phase 5: Endgame (Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo)
The Last Leg, the twelfth and final Career scenario, set in Upper Bay of New York. It expects competence in every system the previous eleven taught and closes the Goodwin family story.
Level/Difficulty: Career scenario 12, finale Key Rewards: Campaign completion, full system test, gold star Career achievement
What to Do in Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo
- Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- One way glass keeps nervous species calm while guests still see them. It costs more than plain glass and it is the difference between a shy animal hiding all day and being visible.
- The endgame loop: run Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Australia for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Guest education and donation bins mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Bernie Goodwin Memorial Zoo fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Buying rare animals before researching the enrichment tiers their welfare depends on.
- Building a barrier without checking whether the species can climb, dig or smash through that specific type.
- Assigning every keeper to the whole zoo instead of tight work zones, so nothing gets fed on time.
- Releasing juveniles or elderly animals to the wild and wondering why the Conservation Credit return is so low.
- Skipping donation bins and education boards, then running at a loss while blaming ticket prices.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Research enrichment tiers before you buy expensive animals. A species sitting in a habitat with tier one enrichment will never reach acceptable welfare, and welfare drives everything from breeding to Conservation Credits.
- Draw keeper work zones tightly around two or three neighbouring habitats. A keeper assigned across the whole zoo spends most of the day walking rather than feeding.
- Donation bins placed at habitat viewing areas earn more than most shops of the same footprint, because educated guests donate more. Pair every viewing platform with a bin and an education board.
- Check the barrier a species can defeat before you build. Climbing, jumping, digging and strength are tested separately, and an escaped animal is almost always a barrier chosen without reading those numbers.
- One way glass keeps nervous species calm while guests still see them. It costs more than plain glass and it is the difference between a shy animal hiding all day and being visible.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Planet Zoo Guides
- Planet Zoo Planet Zoo Overview
- Planet Zoo Best Builds
- Planet Zoo Tier List
- Planet Zoo Beginner's Guide
- Planet Zoo Tips & Tricks
- Planet Zoo Weapons Guide
- Planet Zoo Combat Guide
- Planet Zoo Boss Guide
- Planet Zoo Maps & Locations
- Planet Zoo Crafting Guide
- Planet Zoo Classes & Characters
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