Back in the olden days of 2020 there was some exciting news for people who love dinosaurs and families: Ark 2 was coming and Vin Diesel was coming with it. Vin Diesel, shirtless, riding a dinosaur? Sounded like a certified bop.
Since then, however, we've heard less and less about Ark 2. The sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved was originally announced with a 2023 release date, which was scuttled and then re-announced for the end of 2024. But as 2024 ended, Ark 2 wasn't released. There wasn't any explanation about another delay from Studio Wildcard (at least none I've seen), no announcement in the official Discord, and no revised release date.
Delays are nothing weird, but not announcing or explaining a delay is unusual, especially for a game that not only starred Vin Diesel but involved him on the development side of things: If you recall, Diesel was named Studio Wildcard's "President of Creative Convergence" as well as executive producer of the dino-sequel.
Which doesn't mean Studio Wildcard hasn't been busy. Ark: Survival Ascended, a remaster of Ark: Survival Evolved, was launched into early access in 2023, right about the time Ark 2 was delayed until 2024. That remaster is still going full speed ahead: while there hasn't been word about Ark 2, Studio Wildcard has unveiled a roadmap that takes us to the deep end of 2026. Some of that involves Lost Colony, an expansion for Ark: Survival Ascended. (It's worth noting that the remaster was supposed to leave early access at the end of 2024, so it also missed its date.)
The roadmap includes an update to Unreal Engine 5.5, new creatures like bison, and a remaster of the Ragnarok map, which will be free, in March and April. In June, a new premium map will arrive, and in August, the free remaster of the Valguero map. The following year, Ark: Survival Ascended will get more remastered content like Genesis and Bob's True Tales in April and August 2026, plus the remastered Fjordur map in December 2026.
That's a big, long look ahead for Ark: Survival Ascended. As for when we'll see Vin Diesel riding a dinosaur, we'll let you know if we hear anything. You can check out the roadmap for yourself here.
