As an ardent fan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting news about Ark 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved which created quite a stir in 2020. Unfortunately, it seems that we, the fans, will need to exercise more patience as Studio Wildcard co-founders Jesse Rapczak and Jeremy Stieglitz recently shared that the game’s release is still some way off.
In an interview with PCGamesN, the co-founders shared that they’ve had a “really interesting demo” or prototype, known as a vertical slice, prepared for several years. However, before moving forward with the sequel, the studio felt it was crucial to get comfortable with Unreal Engine 5, the tool they chose for the project. This learning process resulted in the Ark: Survival Ascended project. But you might be wondering where the sequel is? Well, it seems that the team is still refining their skills and preparing for its development.
Ark 2 is still years away
During the interview, Stieglitz shared that Ark 2 was temporarily paused a couple of years back to focus on ASA. Since then, just a small team has been intermittently working on Ark 2. Currently, there’s a fresh piece of development underway at the studio, but it may take some time before it becomes an early access release.
18 months of intense team dedication is required to transform that vertical slice into an early access game. Afterward, most of our team can return to work on it, Stieglitz mentioned. He further stated that the game might be released in the following two years.
The studio co-founder clarified that we must determine a method for effectively utilizing all our available resources to maintain revenue while completing Ark 2, yet simultaneously allocate sufficient development resources to concurrently produce Ark 2 itself.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that the team has faced challenges in grasping the fundamental idea behind Ark 2. Unlike the initial release, Studio Wildcard is merging their open-world survival game with a soulslike fighting style and unpredictable world occurrences to create a more immersive experience. However, the studio has found it challenging to effectively implement combat mechanics that feel satisfying.
The co-founder noted that a segment of our team is still fine-tuning the fight mechanics for [Ark 2], specifically the soulslike combat. He mentioned it’s quite challenging to create such combat dynamics in a multiplayer Player vs Player setting. In fact, there are only a few games that have dared to attempt this kind of PvP combat in reality.
Beyond this, the team is equally dedicated to maintaining the commitments they made five years ago, as suggested by the trailer, that Ark 2 should include NPC antagonists. Additionally, they aim to incorporate a greater number of User-Generated Content (UGC) ideas to empower players in crafting unique experiences. However, with such extensive work and high aspirations, it appears challenging to achieve all this within a span of just two years.
Read More
- Pixel Heroes Character Tier List (May 2025): All Units, Ranked
- CNY RUB PREDICTION
- Delta Force Redeem Codes (January 2025)
- List of iOS 26 iPhones: Which iPhones Are Supported?
- Here Are All of Taylor Swift’s Albums in Order of Release Date (2025 Update)
- What Alter should you create first – The Alters
- Selena Gomez & Hailey Bieber’s Instagram Unfollow Drama Explained
- Ironeye is Elden Ring Nightreign’s most useful character, but their anti-soulslike style bores me to tears
- Best Heavy Tanks in World of Tanks Blitz (2025)
- Ford Recalls 2025: Which Models Are Affected by the Recall?
2025-06-25 16:10