To do this, Frontier staff inspected different dinosaur models and reference materials sent by Universal, watched the Jurassic Park films, and read the novels and fan theories.

Jeff Goldblum, Bryce Dallas Howard and BD Wong reprised their roles from the Jurassic Park film series, voicing remarks to players and contributing to the game's narrative.

Players must build an Expedition Center, which sends paleontologists to fossil dig sites to obtain dinosaurs' DNA material.

[2] The game features a terrain tool which allows players to modify the environment by planting trees and creating water sources.

[3] Dinosaurs are the game's main attraction and income earner, although money can also be earned through selling products in stores and guests staying at hotels.

[10] Various emergency situations may happen in the park, including power failures, unpredictable weather, and dinosaur breakouts, which must be addressed by players to ensure guests' safety and happiness.

[1][9] Emergency shelters to protect the guests, as well as other security structures like power network redundancies and storm warning centers, can be built.

[11] In the career mode, the player's goal is to develop five-star parks across the fictional islands of the Las Cinco Muertes Archipelago.

[15] Challenge Mode, available in an update after the game's release, involves playing with adjustable levels of difficulty and limited money, in addition to other differences like fees and penalties against players.

[25] Universal Pictures provided the developers with dinosaur models from the films to allow for a high level of detail, as well as reference materials and audio.

To aid in creating the game, the development team closely watched the films and read Michael Crichton's novels, Jurassic Park and The Lost World, and fan theories.

[29] In February 2017, Frontier's CEO David Braben announced the company was working on a new project based on an existing Hollywood property.

[21] A free game update based on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, with six dinosaurs from the film, was released on 22 June.

[18][35][33] In August, Frontier Developments announced an upcoming patch that would alter the sizes of several dinosaurs to match their real-life and film counterparts.

Set after Fallen Kingdom, the expansion features a standalone campaign which sees players relocating the remaining dinosaurs trapped on Isla Nublar to Sanctuary Island.

It also features seven new missions with new voice work by Goldblum, as well as Sam Neill and Laura Dern, the latter reprising their roles as Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler.

Return to Jurassic Park features an original story that takes place shortly after the first film, ignoring the sequels.

[21] For months, Frontier tried to arrange for Neill, Goldblum and Dern to record their lines together, but scheduling issues prevented this from occurring.

Return to Jurassic Park was in development for a while as the Frontier team wanted to take its time to create a comprehensive DLC based on the first film.

[45] The package introduced Compsognathus and Pteranodon, as well as new designs for the game's Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor, matching their original appearance in the first film.

[42][44] A Nintendo Switch port of the game, titled Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition, was released on 3 November 2020.

She enjoyed being able to control the jeep and the ACU helicopter from a third-person perspective, a mechanic she applauds for allowing players to relate to the dinosaurs.

[57] Dan Stapleton of IGN disagreed and felt that unlocking genes was tedious, describing the process as a series of "mandatory robotic actions".

[58] Philippa Warr of PC Gamer praised the dinosaurs but criticized the lack of attention to missions and individual guests' views and happiness ratings on the park.

[59] Tack criticized the tiresome aspect of simulation and the constant need to wait for objectives to be completed, comparing them to a mobile game.

[57] Describing the simulation as "shallow", Roemer criticized the lack of time constraints, cleanliness ratings, and a full day-night cycle.

[58] Warr criticized the lack of variety featured in the missions, with different scenarios only presenting minor modifications and adjusting the difficult slightly.

She also disliked the contracts for occasionally forcing players to complete missions that do not make sense, such as releasing a dinosaur to kill guests.

Loveridge noted that certain missions were confusing with some late game objectives being presented too early, forcing him to dismiss them to progress.

She singled out the tutorial section for being incompetent, failing to inform players about key aspects of the game such as power distribution and landscaping tools, which often create obstruction.