It’s now 2025, and the absence of an imminent release forArk 2becomes increasingly worrisome. Announced in 2020, the follow-up toArk: Survival Evolved(and its enhanced remakeSurvival Ascended) has been subjected to numerous delays, eventually slipping out of a planned 2023 launch window. The last official word on the subjectpromised a late 2024 window for the game, but as we ring in the second month of 2025, it’s clear thatArk 2has missed its deadline.
AfterArk 2didn’t keep its 2023 plans,Ark: Survival Ascended, an Unreal Engine 5remake of the original game, ultimately slid into its place.TheArkIP clearly isn’t dead, with several DLCs released in the past year, and many more on the way. But despite the continued activity of the franchise, none of that has been accompanied by updates on when the sequel can be expected.
Ark 2 Set Its Sights On A 2024 Release
A Delay, Followed By Another Delay, Followed By A Third, Quieter Delay
Ark 2was first announced at The Game Awards in 2020, and was initially scheduled for release in 2022. That year, the developer, Studio Wildcard, put out a statement announcing thatArk 2would be delayed until 2023. The last update onArk 2’s timeline was made available on the officialArkwebsite in March 2023. This update explainedthat the game would be delayed until the end of 2024, when it would exclusively launch on Xbox, Game Pass, and PC.
But as the year dragged on, that release window began to close, until fans insisted it’d be revealed as a late 2024 release in the final months of the year. But its release date didn’t hold true;2024 came and went with no official word on whenArk 2would be out.
Ark 2’s Future Is Looking More Bleak Than Ever Despite All The New Content
The Ark brand is still going strong, but its overall market presence might not mean that the future of Ark 2 is certain in any real capacity.
At the time,the company justified the initial delay as a result of the switch to Unreal Engine 5. Fullyincorporating the new technologywould be an involved process, andArk: Survival Ascendedwas positioned as a way to help bridge the gap and prepare for the sequel. Optimizing the game for console and working on cross-platform systems could help the team understand the true scope of the challenges forArk 2, hopefully leading to a better-finished product.
Butthere’s been no word from Wildcard since that 2023 delay. Even as the 2024 deadline came and went, there were no updates on a potential release - scarcely even a statement to sayArk 2was delayed until an indeterminate time in the future. Fans were left disappointed, with only one question to ponder.
What Happened To Ark 2?
Studio Wildcard Ignores The Existence of Ark 2
Ark’s team has been juggling a lot in the past several years, includingthe release of bothArk: Survival Ascendedand its multiple DLC expansions, as well as the new TV series,Ark: The Animated Series. These other projects have possibly taken priority overArk 2, and themixed public reception of bothhasn’t likely sped anything up. Studio Wildcard may have further delayed the project to focus on delivering a solid product withArk 2, or, based on recent company changes, continued to allocateresources toArk: Survival Ascendedupdates.
Ark: Survival Ascended’s 10 Most Annoying Dinosaurs & Creatures
Ark: Survival Ascended has some incredible dinosaurs and creatures, but some are a pain to deal with and end up being just plain annoying.
Furthermore,the financial situation at the studio seems to be complicated. A 2023SECfiling revealed that Studio Wildcard owner Snail Games received a several-million-dollar loan from Marbis/Nitrado that came with some ties. When it comes to repayment, the conditions state thatArk: Survival Ascendedhad to be officially launched by August 04, 2025, and if not, they would have to pay Nitrado back an amount equaling 20% of the monthly gross revenue fromArk: Survival Evolveduntil the loan has been paid off in its entirety.
Snail Games' 2023 financial results also showcased a net loss of $9.1 million USD, adding another level of concern to the picture. At the moment, it might be necessary to keep the focus onArk: Survival Ascendedto generate the necessary revenue for the company’s continued development of theArkfranchise. This wouldalign with the recent behavior of Studio Wildcard,and despite the lack of news surroundingArk 2, the studio has continued to deliver content updates forSurvival Ascended.
Will Ark 2 Release In 2025?
Ark 2 Seems To Still Be In Production, As Far As Anyone Knows
It’s entirely possible thatArk 2will come out in 2025, but honestly, no one seems to know the answer. Wildcard seems to have renewed its focus onSurvival AscendedDLC, and hasn’t given any official notice that it’s still working onArk 2, let alone whether it comes out. If any news does come soon, it’s more likely going to be the belated official announcement of another delay, which may or may not come alongside a new release window for the game.
10 Ways Ark: Survival Ascended Is Better Than Ark: Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Ascended is more than just an enhanced version of the Survival Evolved, with plenty of improved features and new mechanics.
It’s also possible thatArk 2has quietly been canceled, and Wildcard has opted to develop more content forSurvival Ascendedinstead. Of course, Wildcard hasn’t said anything on this subject, either, so this is just speculation. At the very least, it’d likely put out a statement to inform fans who have been waiting patiently for it, which it hasn’t done.Ark 2is still listed as “to be announced” on Steam, and appears prominently on the homepage of Studio Wildcard’s website. There’s no reason to believe it’s been canceled, even if there’s been no official statement to the contrary.
In January 2025, Wildcard put out a newroadmap forArk: Survival Ascended, declaring the original defunct after missing multiple deadlines on its 2024 calendar.ASA’s upcoming expansions were all pushed back to later release dates -notably absent from the 2025 roadmap, however, wasArk 2.
Ragnarokis now due in April 2025,Valgueroin August, andLost Colonyin November.
So,at present,Ark 2doesn’t appear to be part of Wildcard’s 2025 plans- or its 2026 plans, either. The roadmap actually extends beyond December of next year, whenFjorduris due out. The last two items on the timeline,Crystal IslesandLost Island, are listed with release dates “tbd,” meaning they very well could be released as late as 2027, andArk 2may yet follow.
The largestfrustration surroundingArk 2is the lack of communication, and an increase in publicly available information about the state of the project could go a long way. Despite the now-broken promise of a 2024 release, though, it’s now been almost two years since we last got any kind of update onArk 2’s development cycle or potential release date. Suffice it to say that it might still be a while before Studio Wildcard and Snail Games fully align their goals withArk 2.
Sources:Survive the Ark/Studio Wildcard,U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,Snail Games
Ark: Survival Ascended
ARK: Survival Ascended is a reimagined version of the 2017 action-adventure survival MMORPG by the developers at Studio Wildcard and Grove Street Games. Built in Unreal Engine 5, players will return to ARK to build tribes, fight and tame dinosaurs, and brave the elements as they battle to survive in a unique sandbox where crafting and resource management is essential.
