2025 seemed like the year Ark: Survival Ascended and the franchise would expand, but now I am more concerned than ever. Despite its technical demands, Ascended started as an enormous success for the franchise. However, the recent track record of poor decisions and unfriendly decisions has quickly derailed any progress.

Even though Ascended has a roap for 2025, any deadline they set has proven unreliable. This has left the franchise with plans but never any concrete expectations from the community. The sole exception would be Astraeos, which was released ahead of schedule. However, this map was largely created by dedicated players, meaning it was likely much easier to speed up.

Ark: Aquatica Is Causing Issues

A Seemingly Lazy Effort

The most recent arguable disaster for the franchise is the controversial announcement of Aquatica. This map is based on an Ark that crashed into the ocean and takes place almost entirely underwater. However, the issue here is that it is being made for Evolved, and while this could mean it will eventually come to Ascended, it seems like an unnecessary step back to a perfect game that was already completed.

When the game started to leak out, a concern was that it could be further delaying content for Ascended or Ark 2. Luckily, Aquatica is being developed by a separate team, so there shouldn't be any issue with content development. Still, a studio becoming notorious for delays suddenly announcing an entirely new map for a seemingly finished game is a fair cause for concern.

Aquatica did have an in-engine gameplay trailer, but it was relatively light and did not paint a good picture of what to expect from the update.

To make matters worse, the announcement trailer was seemingly made completely by AI. This was a large slap in the face to much of the community and those who take pride in this kind of work. Aquatica did have an in-engine gameplay trailer, but it was relatively light and did not paint a good picture of what to expect from the update.

What Is The State of Ark 2?

A Game Stuck In Development

Numerous delays pushed the highly anticipated sequel to late 2024, and that date ed with no update. The only semblance of news that was given was the announcement of Lost Colony, a new story expansion that will fill the gaps between the previous story and lead into Ark 2. This didn't give a date, but it showed that the company is still working on the sequel.

Studio Wildcard has reassured fans it is still working on Ark 2, though this could be an implementation into Ascended when they announced a separate team is developing Aquatica. However, this does not mean the game will launch in 2025. The roap again comes into play since the Ascended versions of Genesis are set for April and August 2026. If Ark 2 is not planning to launch until Ascended is caught up, this could mean late 2026 or even early 2027.

Will 2025 Doom The Ark Franchise?

A Must-Win Situation

2025 was already in rocky waters, given the amount of microtransaction content Ark had added between Ark: Survival Ascended's mods and item packs. Compiling this with all the controversy surrounding Aquatica could lead to trouble for the beloved prehistoric survival game. Lost Colony will be a big chance for Studio Wildcard to prove they can still release quality content without the same controversy. However, if Lost Colony proves to be a failure, the preexisting situation will worsen.

2025 is unlikely to be the final nail in the franchise's coffin, but it could be the first one. If the controversy over Studio Wildcard's practices continues and the new content can't live up to expectations, then the excitement/love for the franchise could plummet. If Ark 2 continues to be delayed into 2026 or beyond, that is likely to drastically harm any hype for the franchise, and if it releases poorly, it could be the final nail.

Overall, it is a shame that a franchise as unique and beloved as this is now under such dire straights. There may not be a financial crunch, as the game still makes a sizable profit, but the community's opinion of the game is on the line. Hopefully, both Aquatica and Lost Colony can be amazing pieces of content to add to an already talented franchise. However, if this is not the case, 2025 may be the year fans should start worrying about the Ark franchise.