Ark: Aquaticahas had a very strange reveal over the past few days. Unfortunately, it’s the reveal itself that makes me worry that the release date we were given, June 2025, is not going to be met. That is three months away, and what fans have been given does not feel like it is ready to be released. It feels like concepts for a DLC that is years away.
Since its reveal in December 2020, Studio Wildcard has been mostlysilent about the development ofArk 2, only updating to say the game is still in development.Ark: Acquatica, which isn’t made by Studio Wildcard, seems to have gone a different route, seeminglyalmost being done before we all heard about it, but I would be very surprised if it came out during the promised release window.
Ark: Aquatica Is A Strange Survival Evolved Reveal
The Reveal Trailers Definitely Got Attention
There were two trailers released forArk: Aquatica, one that looks like AI and a regular one. What’s interesting is that both trailers share the same starting animation, but what is going on in the background is different. The beach is seen in the trailer that looks like AI posted on theSnail Games USAYouTube, but the trailer posted onArk AscendedNewson X shows the same animation underwater. This shows thatsome assets were reused, and based on what we’ve seen in both trailers, not much was actually done.
Ark 2 Gets An Update For The First Time In Months, But The Reason Why Is Too Weird To Believe
We know that Ark 2 is still in development, and the most recent update only came about because a bizarre trailer for the series sparked backlash.
Aside from the two trailers, the only support that Studio Wildcard gave was thatArk: Aquaticais an official part of theArkfranchise. In the post on theArk: Survival AscendedX account, it was stated thatArk: Aquaticawould be developed by Snail Games USA Colorado. However, itseemed like the company was distancing itself from the announcement. The next statement was to follow Snails Games USA for any more updates, and that Studio Wildcard would remain entirely dedicated toArk: Survival AscendedandArk 2.
What makes this subtle distancing clearer is the fact that this tweet came less than 24 hours after the YouTube trailer was released. This same trailer was taken down in less than 24 hours after a lot ofbacklash from fans in the commentsover the use of ostensible use of AI. It can beperceived as Studio Wildcard washing its hands ofArk: Aquatica.
Trailers For Ark: Aquatica Don’t Have Much To Show
The Trailers Gave Us Very Little Information
The trailers forArk: Acquaticadon’t seem like they had a lot of planning behind them. They seem very rushed, and while one of them shows gameplay, it doesn’t really give much information about what is new or coming in this next DLC or expansion. Instead,it makes the viewer question what the purpose of the trailer wasother than to explain that newArkcontent was coming.
In the YouTube trailer, it all seems like an AI-generated video. It ishard to ignore the bright colors and almost unrealistic body partsthat appear. However, in the X trailer, it’s just two people moving around a base built underwater. One of them uses a fish to swim away, but it’s very low effort.
The trailer does show players that bases will be underwater and aquatic life is there, but that’s something you can get from the title. It’s almost as if the company needed to put something out quickly, sothey gave us the bare essentials for a trailer, and it’s not as impressive as a trailer should be.
Delays Are All Too Common For Ark Games
It Seems Like A Difficult Release Window To Meet
Ark: Aquaticais coming from a series that is no stranger to delays. The last official word was thatArk 2would be released in 2024. We are in 2025, andthere’s still noArk 2in sight. Unfortunately, the promisedrelease date of June 2025 forAquaticais either a date that won’t be met, or it is a terrible sign that the next expansion won’t have much to it.
The biggest issue comes from the trailer itself.It’s not an impressive-looking expansion forSurvival Evolved, and the fact that so little has been shown this close to release may suggest the studio doesn’t have faith in it. These trailers show so little that it’s hard to imagine there’s a lot to what’s coming.
The next issue is how little backing this has had. A tweet stating that another studio is making the game alongside two low-effort trailers does not feel like something players would get during an announcement, let alone three months before release. It feels like there will be a delay coming, but hopefullyArk 2will be more promising since Studio Wildcard is handling it.
