Frontier Developments announced a deal with Disney to develop and publish a game built on Disney’s IP. The studio behind Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, and RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 also made Kinect Disneyland Adventures in 2011.
The studio that makes the best theme park simulators in the business is making a Disney game.
Frontier Developments announced Thursday that it has entered into an agreement with Disney to develop and publish a new title drawing on Disney’s portfolio of intellectual property.
Frontier is funding the entire thing itself and publishing it.
Beyond that, almost nothing is confirmed.
Frontier already built a virtual Disneyland
Frontier made Kinect Disneyland Adventures in 2011, a game that let players walk through a virtual recreation of Disneyland park, meet characters, and ride attractions.
It came out for Xbox 360 and was later remastered.
In the years since, Frontier has become the definitive name in park-building games. That is a considerably stronger position to start from than it held in 2011.
The résumé is the reason people are excited
Frontier’s catalog reads like a list of what fans want a Disney game to be.
The studio developed RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 in 2004, then launched Planet Coaster in 2016 as its own franchise, followed by Planet Coaster 2 in November 2024. It also makes Planet Zoo, a spiritual successor to Zoo Tycoon, and the Jurassic World Evolution series.
There is also an unannounced Planet game in development separate from the Disney project.
The company calls its specialty Creative Management Simulation, and Frontier’s press release says the Disney game will build on that experience directly.
Frontier CEO commented on the collaboration
Jo Cooke, Frontier’s chief executive, framed the deal around the studio’s existing community.
“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,” Cooke said.
“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.”
A passionate creative community of players is a fairly precise description of the people who have spent a decade building elaborate parks in Planet Coaster and posting them online.
Nobody has confirmed it’s a park builder
Frontier has not announced a title, a genre, a platform, a release window, or which Disney properties are involved. The press release says Creative Management Simulation, which is the studio’s general category rather than a product description.
Disney fans would likely want another park walk-through game, Disney park builder game, or some other creative use of Disney IP.
But nothing specific has been announced.
That said, the combination of Disney IP, a studio whose flagship franchise is a theme park simulator, and a CEO talking about creative communities seems to point in an obvious direction.
Disney has tried park games before
Disney Magic Kingdoms, a mobile builder released in 2016, tasked players with restoring a park after Maleficent casts a spell over it.
Toy Story Mania in 2009 adapted an actual Disney attraction into a game.
None of those scratched the itch parks fans have had for years, which is a proper simulator with Disney’s actual rides, lands, and characters in it.
A game where players can ride actual attractions or defunct ones would likely be well received.
Disney is going all in on gaming
The company now counts nine gaming franchises that have each grossed more than $1 billion, and has said gaming will be a key part of its storytelling strategy going forward. It has also been expanding its partnership with Epic Games, including a Fortnite island connected to the Millennium Falcon attraction at two of its parks.
Licensing its IP to the studio that already dominates the park-building genre is a straightforward extension of that.
Frontier gave no timeline, which for a game announced at the agreement stage usually means years rather than months.
Hopefully it’s worth the wait.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Frontier Developments (September 3, 2026), the official press release announcing the Disney agreement, the funding and publishing terms, and the Jo Cooke quotes
GameSpot (September 3, 2026), Eddie Makuch’s report including the Kinect Disneyland Adventures history, the prior Disney park games, and Disney’s nine billion-dollar franchises
WDW News Today (September 3, 2026), the parks-focused coverage and the full Cooke statement
Gematsu and Push Square (September 3, 2026), the Creative Management Simulation genre details and the unannounced Planet game in development