Fans of the sci-fi, dinosaur-taming survival universe of ARK: Survival Ascended are in for a treat, as the first glimpse of the highly anticipated sequel—ARK 2—is set to arrive in a major update toward the end of 2027.
Jeremy Stieglitz, co-founder of Studio Wildcard, confirmed that ARK 2 is currently planned for release in 2028.
The announcement was made during Snail Games’ Investor Day at the NASDAQ Marketsite in Times Square, where the studio showcased its achievements, highlighted a deeper collaboration with actor Karl Urban, and outlined the franchise’s roadmap for the next two years.
Legacy of Santiago and the Road Ahead
Stieglitz guided attendees through a two-year roadmap for ARK: Survival Ascended, which peaks with the release of Legacy of Santiago—a major expansion designed to both lay the narrative groundwork for ARK 2 and introduce new gameplay mechanics destined for the sequel.
ARK: Survival Evolved has a rich history spanning nearly a decade. Development began in 2014 with a small team of around ten people, followed by the early access release in 2015. Two years ago, the team launched a remastered version, transitioning the game from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5, now known as ARK: Survival Ascended.
Snail Games reports that over 4 million copies of this latest version have been sold, with robust support for user-generated content across Windows PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. Mods range from new maps and game modes to character costumes and creations, reflecting the community’s creativity.
“They’ve created more than 5,000 mods, which have been downloaded over 750 million times,” Stieglitz shared. “It has truly become a core element of the game.”
ARK: Lost Colony
The first major expansion, ARK: Lost Colony, launches this week, aiming to expand the game’s narrative and introduce new features. One ARK first: players can now recruit AI-controlled human characters to their tribes and raid computer-generated bases.
This vampire-themed expansion also introduces over a dozen new creatures, including the frame-shifting Ossidon, telekinetic Aureliax, evolving fox familiars, feral Neophytes, Revenant swarms, laser-wielding Gloon, and the massive Gigadesmodus flying fortress.
The story will unfold through MAPPA anime sequences starring Michelle Yeoh, alongside UE5 Metahuman cinematics featuring Madeleine Madden, Auli’i Cravalho, and Karl Urban reprising his role as “Bob.” Players will see the newly modeled, Karl Urban-inspired version of Bob, who will also appear in upcoming DLCs Bob’s True Tales: Tides of Fortune (2026) and Bob’s True Tales: Galaxy Wars (2027).
2026-2027 Expansion Plans
The release of Lost Colony kicks off a two-year content roadmap. Next year, the esports-focused spin-off ARK: Survival of the Fittest will return, allowing up to 60 players to face off in fast-paced survival battles with dinosaur armies. Studio Siren will manage this as a fully supported ongoing esports experience.
Q2 2026 brings the pirate-themed expansion Bob’s True Tales: Tides of Fortune alongside the ARK Genesis map. In Q3, ARK World Creator launches, enabling players to create in-game content without external tools—similar to Fortnite’s UEFN or Roblox.
Q4 2026 sees the arrival of ARK Dragontopia, followed by ARK Atlantis in Q1 2027. In Q2, ARK: Bob’s True Tales Galaxy Wars focuses on spaceship battles with capital ships and starfighters. Finally, the Legacy of Santiago expansion in Q4 2027 serves as a prequel to ARK 2, introducing new mechanics while tying into the sequel’s storyline.
Preparing for ARK 2
Stieglitz explained that lessons from ARK: Survival Ascended—from engine improvements to fan engagement—are being applied to ARK 2. He emphasized that Legacy of Santiago allows the team to test new features in a live environment, gathering feedback and refining mechanics before the official sequel launches.
“One key lesson we learned is not to leave players behind too soon,” Stieglitz said. “With ARK: Survival Ascended, we can continue to develop content while preparing for ARK 2, ensuring players remain engaged and ready for the transition.”
The ultimate goal is to expand the franchise without alienating the existing community. By experimenting with gameplay and features in the 2027 expansions, the studio can carefully introduce ideas for ARK 2 while maintaining excitement for the future.
Stieglitz called that notion a “future problem.”
“I don’t have quite the answer to that yet. My general view on it is that it probably comes down to content. Legacy of Santiago is going to involve a lot of the new fighting and combat mechanics that we want to experiment with, with ARK 2: Soulslike third-person combat, melee combat, and so forth. But it’s not going to have all this like crazy narrative world build out content that we want to do with ARK 2, if the mechanics seem to work well with Legacy of Santiago, then the key selling point of ARK 2 could be that there is this giant campaign narrative that sits as a standalone product.”
And narratively, the team has a very clear idea of where they want to go. In terms of the story, while the Legacy of Santiago will have some connecting tissue, in general, it’s more of a side story to the bigger epic arc of the game.
“We have a much more ambitious narrative built out for ARK 2,” he said. “But I’m going to be blunt, it’s really going to be highly dependent on just how involved Vin Diesel is actually going to be, which is still an open question.”
Back in 2020, Studio Wildcard released a trailer announcing ARK 2 and that it would star Vin Diesel. And while Diesel still likes the game, it’s unclear how much time he’ll have for its creation.
“The question is: How much performance are we going to get from him?” Stieglitz said. “Are we going to get one day, five days, eight hours? You don’t know. And the scope of how much performance we are going to get determines just how the narrative is going to play out. We have a narrative that’s if we get a lot of Vin Diesel, this is what we will do, and if we get a little Vin Diesel, this is what we will do.”
With the Vin Diesel question remaining open, I suggested that perhaps the studio should have another chat with Karl Urban.
“I think,” Stieglitz said, laughing, “you’ve figured out the strategy.”
Editor : Epictogel
Source : cwhqr.com