Ark 2 has seemingly been in limbo since 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 allegedly AI-generated trailer for Aquatica, an DLC for Ark: Survival Evolved, Studio Wildcard posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that proves Ark 2 is still in development. It's only mentioned offhand, but, in stating its detachment from Aquatica, Wildcard confirms it hasn't forgotten Ark 2.

Wildcard Reveals Ark 2 Is Still Coming

But When, We Have No Idea

Ark 2 was 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 announcing Ark 2 would be pushed back into 2024. But we rang in the new year without a word, nor did Ark 2 appear on Wildcard's 2025 roap, leading many to believe it had either been shelved or quietly canceled sometime in the interim.

It's no secret that Wildcard 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 with Ark 2 - rather, it was the namedrop of something called Ark: Aquatica that 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 with Aquatica - it's a Snail Games project.

Shortly thereafter, it was easy to see why: Snail Games revealed the trailer for Aquatica, an DLC for the partially-defunct Survival Evolved (not Ascended). 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 on Ark 2 in the process.

If nothing else, this latest update is affirming, if not terribly revealing. At the very least, we now know Ark 2 is still in the works, and hasn't

been canceled. Wildcard didn't provide any further updates, such as a potential release date, and is still actively releasing DLC for Survival Ascended, so I suspect Ark 2 is at least a couple of years away.

Source: Ark: Survival Ascended/X