Jurassic World Evolution 2 - What We Know So Far

Life has found a way. "Jurassic World Evolution" is coming back with a second game, and it looks bigger and better than ever.

The first "Evolution" game let players jump into the popular movie series and control their own parks within the universe. Between bioengineering dinosaurs, managing and designing a park, and keeping unruly dinos under control, the game had a lot to offer to both fans of management games and "Jurassic Park" enthusiasts. It has also been supported with DLC since its release. 

The new game will be set directly after the events of the divisive "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." You'll meet characters like Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm and Chris Pratt's Owen Grady. Goldblum reprises his voice role from the first game, alongside Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

The second "Evolution" game was rumored for a week before it was announced, and fans were caught by surprise when new footage was unveiled at June 10's Summer Game Fest Kickoff livestream. Even more surprising is the fact that it's coming out much sooner than anyone could've expected.

At the end of the announcement trailer, the words "coming 2021" popped up on the screen. That means that the game will have to drop at some point in the next six months to make that window.

When it comes to pinpointing the exact date, however, there aren't too many hints. The first game came out in June, and it's safe to say that's not going to happen with the second game. The developer, Frontier, doesn't have any other announced games on the horizon for 2021, so that can't be used to gauge the release date for "Evolution," either.

The 2021 window applies to releases for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X|S, and PC. The first game was eventually released on the Switch, but it took over two years to get to the system. If there is a Switch release for this game, it may follow suit and drop in a few years. Who knows — it arrive on an entirely new Switch Pro.

The trailer for "Jurassic World Evolution 2" basically consisted of Jeff Goldblum introducing the very idea behind "Jurassic World." Humans have inevitably screwed up, playing with genetics and creating dinosaurs that have gotten out of control, and now they're left to pick up the pieces.

At the very end of the trailer, fans were taken underwater and shown a marine dinosaur. Fans have noted that this is a pretty significant moment, since these types of creatures were not part of the first game. While there were dinosaurs that enjoyed being near water, there were no exhibits that featured prehistoric animals under the water.

The very last bit of narration in the trailer mentioned that "this is a very different world," and the official press release from Frontier gives a bit more information on what that means. The new game will take you "beyond the confines of the Muertes Archipelago," which is where the "Jurassic Park" movies and the first "Jurassic World" movie took place.

If you didn't play the first game, then you might not know that "Jurassic World Evolution 2" will be a unique kind of park management game. Between detailing everything down to the price of merch, how electricity will run throughout the park, and how well park guests can see the attractions, this game will keep you on your toes in a lot of other exciting ways. You are dealing with wrangling and containing dinosaurs, after all.

"Jurassic World Evolution 2" will have many of the same mechanics, as well as some new features. The announcement for the game from Frontier mentioned that some of the new features will include caring for flying dinos and marine animals. Apparently, both of these were requested enough by fans to be added into the second game.

Frontier also highlighted four different game modes. The first is Campaign, which is a story mode set directly after "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." Sandbox mode will let players have fun and create the park of their dreams, while Challenge mode tests players' skill. The last mode is Chaos mode, which Frontier has described as "a re-imagined take on pivotal moments" from the movies.