Following the massive global success of the original cult classic—which has surpassed four million copies sold—Big Cheese Studio has officially announced that Cooking Simulator 2: Better Together will launch on PC in March 2026. To whet the appetites of aspiring chefs, a free Prologue will be released in February, offering a first look at the sequel’s highly anticipated new features.
More Than Just Co-Op
While the headline addition is the long-awaited co-op mode, the sequel expands the culinary sandbox in every direction. With over 200 ingredients, 80 recipes, and 11 distinct customer groups, the game aims for deeper immersion. A standout innovation is "Cooking Sense," a new mechanic that visualizes real-world senses like smell and taste, helping players navigate the heat of the kitchen with more than just their eyes.
The game also introduces "Blueprints," a next-generation recipe system. This allows players to save their own custom culinary creations as clear, step-by-step recipe cards. To keep the professional kitchen running smoothly, an automated shopping list has been added, which intelligently analyzes the restaurant’s menu to suggest current ingredient needs in real-time.
From Messy Kitchens to Fine Dining
Player feedback has been a priority, with continuous external playtests helping to shape an expanded plating system. Chefs can now move beyond simple presentations to create fine dining masterpieces. The guest behavior scenarios have also been enhanced, and the special skills tree has grown to include 30 unique perks that have a more significant impact on gameplay strategy.
Expanding the Franchise
Beyond the PC launch, Big Cheese Studio is already in discussions regarding console ports. The franchise is also pushing boundaries in Virtual Reality with Cooking Simulator VR: Next-Gen Edition. Rebuilt in Unreal Engine with a full 4K relaunch, the VR edition serves as a technical benchmark for the studio's future projects.
Whether you want to master the kitchen with military precision or revel in the inevitable physics-based chaos with a friend, Cooking Simulator 2 is shaping up to be the definitive digital culinary experience of 2026.
