Atari has announced RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks, a new mainline entry in the theme park management series, revealed during the pre-show for Gamescom Opening Night Live.
The game is being developed by Springloaded, the studio behind Let's Build a Zoo, which PC Gamer noted is also releasing the game development sim Let's Build a Dungeon later this year. Polygon reported that Wonderworks will enter PC early access on Steam this winter at $24.99, with Atari planning to bring the finished game to both PC and consoles once early access ends. GameSpot reported that Atari expects to keep the game in early access for around a year, according to its Steam page.
Familiar shape, new art style
Polygon reported that players build parks from an isometric perspective and manage every side of the business, from finances to attraction customisation, but that Wonderworks carries a more toylike art style than its predecessors. Atari said in a press release that the game is meant to be both deep and approachable, with expanded customisation options and more streamlined management tools.
The announcement trailer promised a more intuitive coaster design tool and what Atari called an accurate physics engine, along with the sort of emergent chaos Springloaded built its reputation on — rides breaking down spectacularly, park guests flung off the edge of the map, and an Atari mascot cameo from Bubsy wandering the grounds.
A series that has been quiet for a decade
The revival follows a long gap. PC Gamer reported that the last entry, 2016's RollerCoaster Tycoon World, drew nearly universally poor reviews, and that Atari launched it one day before rival park sim Planet Coaster was due out — a move that did the game no favours, with players preferring Planet Coaster. Polygon reported that the series has produced spin-offs and rereleases since, but no core installment in the decade that followed.
Polygon noted that the original RollerCoaster Tycoon was designed by Chris Sawyer and released in 1999. Neither Atari nor Springloaded has given the new game a firm release date; PC Gamer reported that it is listed as "coming soon" to early access and will not be feature complete when it arrives.