The RollerCoaster Tycoon series is making a comeback later this year with RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks. Developed by Springloaded, the team behind Let’s Build a Zoo, the latest installment of the theme park management sim will enter PC early access on Steam later this year.
Designed by developer Chris Sawyer, 1999’s RollerCoaster Tycoon was a quintessential game for any millennial who grew up with a PC. It allowed you to design your own theme parks, build roller coasters, and manage every aspect of the business. Though the series has had several installments, spinoffs, and rereleases since, the last core game was 2016’s poorly received RollerCoaster World. Atari is now dusting off the IP for Wonderworks, a mainline entry in the series, a decade later.
Despite having a new developer at the helm, RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks looks fairly familiar. Players will create parks from an isometric perspective, though Wonderworks sports a more toylike art style compared to its predecessors. Every aspect of the business, from maintaining finances to customizing attractions, can be managed. In a press release, Atari notes that Wonderworks is designed to be both deep and approachable, as it will include expanded customization options and more streamlined management tools.
What’s new in RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks?
Players can expect a more intuitive roller coaster design tool, an “accurate” physics engine, and a lot of emergent chaos. That last part is where Springloaded comes in, as the studio will bring the sense of humor it showed off in Let’s Build a Zoo to the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise. You can catch a bit of that in the game’s announcement trailer, as rides break down in spectacular fashion and park goers get yeeted off the edge of the map.
RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks will launch into PC early access this winter via Steam. While it doesn’t have a release date yet, it will cost $24.99. Atari plans to launch the complete game on both PC and consoles once early access ends.
