Research is the engine behind a thriving zoo in Planet Zoo 2. It unlocks items and boosts, deepens what your staff know about each species, and gates features like animal releases. Here’s how it works.
Table of Contents
What’s New This Time?
The big change is that mechanic research is gone, so you start with every building item you need. Across the game there are 217+ topics, including 136 species. In Franchise mode, research is shared across all your zoos. In other modes, it stays local to each zoo.
The Four Research Types
| Type | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Species | Builds animal-care knowledge in levels, unlocking things like habitat requirements, fact sheets, fertility boosts and release groups |
| Enrichment | Adds toy and food enrichment, now grouped by enrichment type rather than by individual species |
| Education | Adds education topics for your guests |
| Disease | Raises the immunity of every susceptible species against a given disease |
A species level example: researching a lion takes six levels. Along the way you unlock new habitat requirements, a fact sheet, release groups and fertility bonuses of +15% and then +30%.
How to Actually Do Research
- Build a powered Research Centre on your path network. The Small version fits one researcher and the Large version fits six.
- Assign a vet. Only vets can be assigned to research.
- Choose a topic. For species research, your vet splits their time between watching animals at the habitat and studying at the centre.
Keep in mind that staff put animal care, like feeding and treatment, ahead of research. If progress stalls, check that your vets aren’t swamped with sick animals.
Quick Tips
- Prioritise species you already own so research pays off immediately.
- Use the Large Research Centre once you have several vets.
- Research diseases early. Immunity benefits every susceptible species.
- Research release groups to open up conservation play with Wildlife Reserves.
Want more zoo-building and gaming guides? Keep browsing Technosports, or find more gaming guides on Technosports. New to the series? Here’s Planet Zoo on Wikipedia.
FAQs
How many research types are in Planet Zoo 2?
Four: Species, Enrichment, Education and Disease.
Who does research in Planet Zoo 2?
Vets do, working from a powered Research Centre. Mechanic research has been removed.
