ARK 2 Isn’t Delayed to Spring 2025, Says Studio Wildcard
Earlier this year, Studio Wildcard announced the delay of its upcoming game ARK 2 from 2023 to late 2024. The news didn't exactly fill the ARK community with confidence, but the fans were even more alarmed when ARK 2 News found out that Digital Domain, a partner of Studio Wildcard, pegged the game for an even later release date.
Digital Domain is a visual effects company founded thirty years ago by James Cameron, among others. They've worked on visual effects for countless movies and television productions, but they're also dipping their toes into the gaming industry.
On page 17 of Digital Domain's annual report for 2022, the company lists the work it has done with Supermassive on The Quarry. Then comes the following excerpt on ARK 2:
Digital Domain is continuing its relationship with the team from Studio Wildcard as they prepare for the highly anticipated release of ARK 2, the follow-up to its award-winning predecessor, ARK. Currently, Digital Domain is assisting with the creation of several “in-game” assets. Digital Domain anticipates being intimately involved in all aspects of the project through the game’s release in Spring of 2025.
That would be several months after the late 2024 window stated by Studio Wildcard. However, a studio spokesperson told GamesRadar that it was just a typo.
ARK 2 will be quite the departure from ARK: Survival Evolved, the highly successful debut game from Studio Wildcard. For the sequel, the developers are removing the first-person view to focus on making the third-person implementation as good as possible. The movement is said to be smooth thanks to features like mantling, free-climbing, swinging, parkour, sliding, and even swinging.
The combat has been modeled after the Soulslike games. Staggers, combos, special attacks, blocks, and dodges have all been confirmed. Studio Wildcard promised players a dynamic world thanks to events that will happen regardless of their participation.
ARK 2 takes place on a different planet where the local flora and fauna are being invaded by dinosaurs from the now-extinct Earth. The planet's inhabitants, the Aratai, will hunt down player characters, perceived as invaders themselves. Because of the setting change, there won't be any high-tech weapons, unlike Survival Evolved.
Studio Wildcard also made big claims for the crafting system. Its module-based approach should allow for millions of combinations, and specific materials will also affect the items' appearance. Last but not least, ARK 2 is expected to feature full cross-platform modding via Mod.io.
Powered by Unreal Engine 5, the game's narrative stars Vin Diesel as the character Santiago and Auli'i Cravalho as his daughter Meeka. ARK 2 will launch on PC and Xbox Series S|X and will be available for Game Pass subscribers on day one.
Meanwhile, Studio Wildcard announced an Unreal Engine 5 remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved due to launch this August, though the decision that owners of the original game will have to buy the remaster sparked an uproar from the community.
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