One of the more fun games of the year has finally been given the green light for a launch after spending three years in early access. Dev and publisherMonomi Park have now officially announced thatSlime Rancher 2will be available on July 26, 2025, to bring a vibrant new world, Rainbow Island, toPlayStation 5,Xbox Series X|SandPCvia Steam and the Epic Games Store.
10 Games To Play If You Love Slime Rancher
Whether you want the creature collecting or the farming, these games should touch on the features you love from Slime Rancher.
If you’ve played theprevious titleor if you’ve been part of the early access since 2022, this year’s launch date represents the end of a long waiting period filled with years of updates, improvements and community feedback.
What is Slime Rancher?
If you don’t know what Slime Rancher is about, well, it’s literally a game about Slime Ranching. To be more specific, you’re a space rancher on an alien planet where your main livestock just happens to be cute, bouncing, slimes.
Your job is to catch these critters, keep them in corrals, feed them and sell their…droppings. I know, it’s a real funny way to earn credits, but how else are you going to make money off slimes, right? Plus, you can also capture other breeds or mutate them using different creatures that you can catch in the wild.
It’s one of those games that’s pure fun and doesn’t take itself seriously and also gives you complete freedom and total control over which mission requests you’d like to part in.
So, What’s New in Slime Rancher 2?
Looking at the trailer, it’s immediately clear that Slime Rancher 2 has improved a lot compared to the original game. This sequel looks more vibrant, has better textures and now features different biomes, butthe best addition to Slime Rancher 2 may just be the Quantum Drones, which will be your go-to in order to automate activities inside your ranch and also roam the island to find resources. What this means is that there are no more endless back-and-forth trips just to gather materials to build and maintain your ranch.
Apart from that,Slime Rancher 2 will also feature a brand-new story, a dynamic weather system which includes rain, wind, thunderstorms and an Enigmatic Grey Labyrinth filled with entirely new kinds of puzzles and secrets.
I played the first Slime Rancher and I love the new additions for this sequel, but to be honest, what I’m excited to see is how the weather changes the slimes and how I’d be able to create different breeds and keep them inside my ranch.
Physical Edition Collab With iam8bit
If you’re looking for a physical copy, you’re in luck becauseMonomi Park has partnered with iam8bit to release exclusive physical copies of the game that’s slated to be released on August 05, 2025. Yes, that’s a few months after the digital launch, but the wait might be worth it for an exclusive artwork by legendary artist Yusuke Naora.
To give you a bit of context, Yusuke Naora was an art director, art supervisor and character designer who worked for Square Enix, involving the majority of characters and costume designs for a huge number ofFinal Fantasy games. Meanwhile,iam8bitis a merchandise company that’s focused on selling anything video game related, including vinyl records of official game soundtracks, apparel and other merch.
For Slime Rancher 2, the standard retail edition contains:
While pre-ordering iam8bit’s Exclusive Edition sweetens the deal further with:
Both retail and exclusive editions are priced at $34.99, so if you like the game, you’d best order Slime Rancher 2 in advance to get theiam8bit Exclusive Edition, which is only available for pre-order until August 26.
But if you’re itching to try out the game sooner, Slime Rancher 2’s digital copies are already available for purchase in digital stores for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Slime Rancher 2 will exit early access on June 03, 2025.
