Today, Studio WildCard announced that Ark 2, the sequel to 2017’s Ark: Survival Evolved, is getting delayed a second time into 2024 – but in the meantime, a next-gen version of the original game is coming out in August to keep us busy.
In a community blogpost offering a development roadmap, Studio WildCard explained that the reason for Ark 2’s delay to next year was due to challenges working with Unreal Engine 5:
“Our goal is to make ARK 2 the best game it can be and provide a truly exceptional and rewarding experience for players. Unreal Engine 5 is incredibly new technology to us (and all developers), and we aim to use this cutting-edge tech to its fullest potential while creating a game with never-before-achieved scope at Studio Wildcard. As we learn more about the engine and develop the sequel, we have adapted our workflows and adjusted our pipelines to accommodate this new next-generation paradigm, and because of everything that involves, we need more time for development.”
Additionally, Studio WildCard acknowledged that these challenges also mean that Ark 2 will not be backward compatible. So that means no release of Ark 2 on Xbox One or PS4.
But there’s some good news for Ark 1 fans. Because Ark 2 has “some pretty significant design changes from the original game” and may not appeal to those who prefer “Souls-like combat, primitive-only weaponry, and strict third-person mechanics – and an overall “very serious” tone,” Studio WildCard is releasing a current-gen version of Ark 1 on PC, Xbox Series, and PS5 in August of 2023 “to ensure that fans can continue to enjoy the ARK they know for years to come.”
It’s called Ark: Survival Ascended, and comes with The Island, battle royale spinoff Survival of the Fittest, and “all the ‘non-canon DLC maps'”. As well as graphical and performance upgrades, it also includes cross-platform multiplayer and cross-progression, and cross-platform modding supported by Overwolf.
That’s a lot of content, but the purchasing scheme is a bit confusing. Xbox Series X, S, and PC players can only get it by purchasing the Ark Respawned Bundle for $49.99, which includes both Ark: Survival Ascended and Ark 2, and will grant access to an exclusive one-month closed beta of Ark 2 in 2024. The bundle will only be available for the first year after launch of Survival Ascended, after which both games will be available separately.
Meanwhile, PS5 players can purchase Survival Ascended as a standalone game at launch for $39.99. DLC packs will also be available separately on both platforms.
Finally, Studio WildCard has a new canonical story DLC planned for release in Q4 of 2023 including four new creatures.
Ark 2 was first announced via a fancy Vin Diesel cameo at The Game Awards back in 2020, at the time with a 2022 release date, but it was later delayed into 2023. We gave the original Ark: Survival Evolved a 7.7/10 review, praising its strategic moments and combat but noting its AI bugs and grind.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.