Studio Wildcard has announced that it’s made the decision to delay the upcoming and much-anticipated dinosaur survival sim, Ark 2, until the end of 2024.
The Xbox/PC exclusive sequel was original slated to launch in 2022, and then was pushed back to 2023, but now the studio says in a blog post update that not only will the game not launch this year, it’s not planning to show any gameplay screenshots or footage at all this year.
Studio Wildcard cites changing workflows and pipelines due to the newness of Unreal Engine 5 and the scope of the game as contributors to this delay.
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In other Ark news though, the team also announced that its working on a remaster of the original Ark: Survival Evolved, titled Ark: Survival Ascended.
This new version of the game will release exclusively on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC as soon as August 2023, and is powered by the same Unreal Engine 5 technology that we’ll see in Ark 2.
The game will retail for $39.99 USD (approx $60 AUD) and include The Island, SOTF, and all the “Non-Canon” DLC maps, but the expansions will still be sold separately via two $19.99 USD (approx $30 AUD) passes.
Community Crunch 355: ARK Roadmap, EVO Event, and More!https://t.co/62d9Ly6mJ7 pic.twitter.com/JQvBgGAXn6
— ARK: Survival Ascended (@survivetheark) March 31, 2023
Studio Wildcard has included a massive list of what’s changing/included in Ark: Survival Ascended:
ARK: Survival Ascended Changes
- Unreal Engine 5 Overhaul with Nanite, Lumen and RTXDI
- Dynamic Water
- Interactive Foliage
- Unreal Engine 5 performance gains: instanced-rendering (large-bases etc.), threaded server networking, and native physics engine
- Cross-platform Multiplayer
- This includes cross-platform accounts and cross-progression, cross-voice chat & friends, etc. No matter what platform you start playing on, you can access your account, character, dinos, and items on a different platform for the ultimate cross-platform experience.
- Cross-platform Modding
- We recognize the power of giving players the tools and capability to define their survival experience, so we want to take cross-platform one step further by working with Overwolf to introduce an industry-first cross-platform modding experience where mods created on PC are delivered directly to end-users’ consoles from a custom modding backend.
- The modding capability will include FULL blueprinting support ;), stacked mods, and maps. Everything that is currently possible on the Steam version of ARK: Survival Evolved and more will be possible on the new system and be available for end-users to play on consoles in all modes.
- Premium Mods: Reviewed by Overwolf and Wildcard for quality control and value, Mod authors will optionally be able to specify price points for their Mods (with 50% of the price point going to the Mod author). This is necessary to pay for the custom infrastructure required for Overwolf to support, administrate, and deliver Mods to the console.
- We plan on streamlining the process of upgrading legacy ARK: Survival Evolved mods to the next-generation platform. We plan to reach out to current/former sponsored modders in preparation for the launch of ASA with the tools they need to get their mods ready before the launch.
- Cross-platform Anti-Cheat
- Survival of the Fittest
- SOTF will be integrated into the main product as a new fully-supported game mode. It will have a dedicated team that will continue to work on more gameplay changes, mechanical improvements, quality of life, maps, and balance adjustments. The initial mode will be revamped with an exclusive ARK: Survival Ascended update, including:
- Upgraded to Unreal Engine 5 with complete cross-platform and cross-modding support (the SOTF UE5 source content will be released for modders to utilize as they wish within ASA)
- Scorched Earth SOTF Map
- Matchmaking queue
- Character and Creature customization with cosmetics
- Local Lobby where you can group up with your friends, configure the look of your survivor and dinos, and queue up for lobbies together
- Lots of bug-fixes and balance and functionality improvements
- SOTF will be integrated into the main product as a new fully-supported game mode. It will have a dedicated team that will continue to work on more gameplay changes, mechanical improvements, quality of life, maps, and balance adjustments. The initial mode will be revamped with an exclusive ARK: Survival Ascended update, including:
- Art Assets are being upgraded throughout the entire game
- Newly-designed holiday events take advantage of the next-gen pipeline, released as mods, so they’re always available to play!
- New content, QOL improvements, balance, and gameplay changes, including but not limited to:
- Updated mini-map (pan, zoom, pings, etc – similar to the SOTF mini-map)
- New structures (display cases, smaller TEK Teleporters) & building QOL improvements (snap fixes, increased foundation support, foundation height adjustments, and more)
- Queueing System
- New third-person camera (with the option to opt out)
- Directional Sprinting and Walking
- Ping system
- Gamepad cursor
- Chibi Slot and Skins Tab
- Balance passes (e.g. Cave Entrances, MEKs, Aberration Creatures, more breedable creatures, etc)
- …and more! (seriously, a lot more, this list isn’t exhaustive, but it’ll get super long if we list everything, and there’s more we’ll decide to do between now and launch too)
