Studio Wildcard has announced that the release of their ARK 2 game, the sequel to Ark Survival Evolved, will be delayed until the end of 2024. The sequel will still be an exclusive launch on Xbox, Game Pass, and Windows distribution platforms, including Steam/PC. The team made the decision to postpone the game’s release to ensure that it would be the best game possible and to take advantage of Unreal Engine 5 technology. While this decision may disappoint fans, the team is confident it is right.
Ark Survival Evolved Sequel ARK 2 Is Delayed, Here’s The Release Date
The delay is a result of the team’s desire to provide players with an exceptional and rewarding gaming experience. The team plans to use Unreal Engine 5’s cutting-edge technology to its fullest potential to create a game with a never-before-achieved scope at Studio Wildcard. As the team learns more about the engine and develops the sequel, they have adapted their workflows and adjusted their pipelines to accommodate this new next-generation paradigm, requiring more development time.
While the team apologizes for the delay, they appreciate the fans’ understanding and continued support. They have decided not to showcase any gameplay, screenshots, or videos of ARK 2 this year. Instead, they will regularly showcase more ARK 2 assets in the months leading up to the gameplay reveal next year.
The team is also creating an intermediary Unreal Engine 5 ARK product, allowing them to test some of their riskier technical advancements, such as rendering and lighting techniques, performance optimization, interactive water, and foliage on a widescale basis. This new version will deliver cross-platform modding, cross-platform multiplayer, and a new account system. The team recognizes that the design changes from the original game may not appeal to everyone and will provide players with a fully next-gen version of the original experience to ensure that fans can continue to enjoy the ARK they know for years to come.
ARK 2 is an ambitious project that requires significant technical and QOL changes. The team is excited to share this new ARK journey with fans and bring players from PC, Xbox, and PlayStation together in a next-generation version of the game they love, topped off with revolutionary cross-platform modding.
