Originally called "Coaster Park Tycoon", the game was revealed on 29 January 2015 and was renamed during E3 2015. "Planet Coaster" is Frontier's second self-published franchise, following "Elite Dangerous". Frontier organised multiple alpha and beta tests before launching the game in November 2016. The game was supported with free as well as paid post-release downloadable content upon launch. The title received positive reviews upon release, with critics praising the game's sandbox mode and creation tools. Criticism was mainly directed to the game's career mode. It was a commercial success, with more than 2.5 million copies sold as of January 2020.