Ark 2, the long-awaited sequel toArk: Survival AscendedandArk: Survival Evolved, just got an official development update for the first time in over a year.Ark 2has seemingly been in limbosince it was first announced; until just recently, the last we’d heard of it was a 2024 release window, which came and went with no official word from Studio Wildcard.
However, in the midst of controversy surrounding the allegedlyAI-generated trailer forAquatica, an upcoming DLC forArk: Survival Evolved,Studio Wildcardposted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that provesArk 2is still in development. It’s only mentioned offhand, but, in stating its detachment fromAquatica, Wildcard confirms it hasn’t forgottenArk 2.
Wildcard Reveals Ark 2 Is Still Coming
But When, We Have No Idea
Ark 2was first announced at The Game Awards all the way back in 2020, and initially set a release window of 2022. It was subsequently delayed into 2023, but, in March of that year, developer Studio Wildcard put out a statement announcingArk 2would be pushed back into 2024. But we rang in the new year without a word, nor didArk 2appear on Wildcard’s 2025 roadmap,leading many to believe it had either been shelvedor quietly canceled sometime in the interim.
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It’s no secret thatWildcard has a lot going on: many of its recent DLC releases have been delayed, including multiple last-minute pushbacks as technical issues prevented releases from being rolled out at their scheduled launch times. It’s not necessarily unusual for a game to go years in development without an update, especially if its development studio has other projects in the works, but it is unusual when they miss their release dates without a word.
The Ark: Aquatica Controversy Has A Silver Lining
Ark 2’s Mention Comes At An Odd Time
The initial announcement was met with confusion, but not because of anything having to do withArk 2- rather, it was the namedrop ofsomething calledArk: Aquaticathat raised eyebrows. This was the first mention of such a project, and many fans had no idea what it was, suspecting a scheduled tweet had been posted too early. In the tweet, Wildcard makes it clear that it has nothing to do withAquatica- it’s a Snail Games project.
Shortly thereafter, it was easy to see why: Snail Games revealed the trailer forAquatica, an upcoming DLC for the partially-defunctSurvival Evolved(notAscended).Fans accused the trailer of using AI-generated video and narration, causing widespread controversy. Wildcard seemingly anticipated this backlash, and preemptively washed its hands of the project, incidentally providing an update onArk 2in the process.
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If nothing else, this latest update is affirming, if not terribly revealing. At the very least, we now knowArk 2is still in the works, and hasn’t
been canceled. Wildcard didn’t provide any further updates, such as a potential release date, and is stillactively releasing DLC forSurvival Ascended, so I suspectArk 2is at least a couple of years away.
