ARK Survival Evolved has been massively popular for a few years. The survival game has steadily increased its pool of content, expansions, and ultimately its player base. Now, though, it's time for ARK 2. Even today, the first game easily manages to hit 60,000+ concurrent players on steam alone. That's not factoring in console players on PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo Switch.
Understandably though it was only a matter of time before Studio Wildcard announced a sequel, which is what we got when announced at The Game Awards in 2020. Here's everything you need to know about ARK 2, starting with the latest news.
For more on the latest games, check out our GTA 6 hub to see all the news on Rockstar's upcoming game. We've also got a look at the FIFA 23 beta, and the rarest Fortnite skins for you to peruse.
ARK 2 latest news
The latest Xbox Showcase event took place last night, but we heard nothing about the release of ARK 2. That said, it's still slated for a 2023 release.
At the Xbox and Bethesda Summer 2022 showcase, Microsoft announced that ARK 2 will be launching in 2023.
Not only that, but it will be available with Game Pass at launch. To see the latest on the game, check out the new trailer.
Right we've had some time to process the story and ending of ARK Genesis: Part 2 and the events most definitely lead into the next game, ARK 2. The crux is this:
ARK Genesis: Part 2 appears to end with the colony ship and Rockwell corrupted-ring crashing towards a planet. Before it crashes though, a clone of Santiago (Vin Diesel) appears to wake up from a sort of cryostasis and is then jettisoned in an escape pod to another earth-like planet.
This is likely where ARK 2 will take place, on this new primitive world we see before the credits roll on Genesis Part 2.
click to enlarge
+ 4ARK's final expansion, Genesis Part 2, looks as though it'll introduce Vin Diesel's character if the last few seconds are anything to go by. Sure, it looks like a generic bald fellow, but who knows. Check it out below:
ARK 2 game release date
As confirmed at the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase 2022, ARK 2 will come out at some point in 2023. No precise release date yet, but we only have to wait until next year to try out the sequel.
click to enlarge + 4ARK 2 trailer
The latest ARK 2 trailer released at the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase 2022, which you can see above on that. On top of that, there is just one cinematic trailer, but it's a goodie, which you can watch just below:
ARK 2 - starring Vin Diesel
Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel featured prominently in the ARK 2 trailer, albeit mainly grunting and fighting off attackers wearing bone armour and tribal gear. Naturally, Vin Diesel was protecting his "family" (Sorry, we couldn't resist) from a giant dinosaur attacking his camp.
According to Studio Wildcard Vin Diesel is playing an unknown character named Santiago (UPDATE: He features in ARK Survival Evolved expansion Genesis Part 2).
It also seems that Vin Diesel has joined Studio Wildcard as an executive producer on the project. But big Vin isn't just lending his likeness to the game for a big wad of cash, apparently, he's a bit of a fan having logged over 1000 hours playing Ark previously.
As well as that he's also an executive producer on the Ark animated series. Big Vin is now named the "President of Creative Convergence" for Studio Wildcard!
click to enlarge + 4Is ARK 2 an Xbox exclusive? Will Ark 2 ever be on PS5?
ARK 2 is set to be a console launch exclusive for Xbox. This was confirmed following the game's announcement, with a blog post on the Xbox NewsWire, which read:
Last week at The Game Awards, Studio Wildcard took their next dinosaur-sized step with the Ark franchise and thrilled the world by announcing Ark II. The reveal trailer (above) was fully captured in-engine and showcases some of the features and gameplay fans can expect when it arrives as an Xbox Series X|S console launch exclusive in 2022.
Xbox and Studio Wildhard have a good history together and it's not surprising to see the game launch as a console exclusive, although how long PlayStation players have to wait for the game to come to PS5 isn't clear at the time of writing.
click to enlarge + 4ARK the animated series
In addition to the Ark II news, Studio Wildcard also revealed that Ark is getting an animated series stacked with talent.
Some of the names mentioned include: Vin Diesel, Madeleine Madden, Michelle Yeoh, Gerard Butler, Jeffrey Wright, David Tennant, Zahn Mcclarnon, Devery Jacobs, Ragga Ragnars, Elliot Page, Karl Urban, Malcom McDowell, Deborah Mailman, and Russell Crowe.
Sounds like it's going to be pretty darn impressive.
For more articles like this, take a look at our ARK Survival Evolved and Hubs page.