For anyone hoping to be riding dinos alongside a shirtless Vin Diesel this year, I am here to give you some bad news. According to a post on the game’s official website, the game has been delayed until ‘the end of 2024’.
The team at Studio Wildcard states that the reasons for the delay is mainly around the new Unreal 5 Engine. “Unreal Engine 5 is incredibly new technology to us (and all developers), and we aim to use this cutting-edge tech to its fullest potential while creating a game with a never-before-achieved scope at Studio Wildcard,” the team stated in a blog post. While they feel the sting of having to delay the game, the team feels like it’s the right thing to do. Personally, I’m all for delays, I’d rather the game come out how it’s intended to be released rather than something that is fixed up over time.
Studio Wildcard does have something for Ark players up their sleeves, though. Using it both as a learning tool for UE5 and as a bit of a taste of what players can expect, Studio Wildcard will release an updated version of Ark: Survival Evolved called Ark: Survival Ascended. This is essentially a “next-generation update” to A:SE, and the base game of A:SA will include The Island, SOTF and the “non-canon” DLC maps, which will be slowly added to the game over time.
While this isn’t the Ark 2 players might have been expecting, it is at least something for everyone to enjoy. It could also inspire those who have left Ark to return to it with its new and improved face-lift.
Ark: Survival Ascended will be launching near the end of August 2023 and will come in two flavours: A bundle pack that will include Ark 2, as well as early beta access to Ark 2 and the A:SA game, or just the stand alone A:SA game. The bundle will cost around $50 (+- R900), and the standalone for around $40 (+- R700).
The full details can be read on the game’s official website here.
