ARK 2 Delayed To 2024 As Work Begins On Remastering ARK: Survival Evolved

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We’ve got some good news, bad news, and worse news for ARK: Survival Evolved players and fans. The bad news is that ARK 2 has been delayed to sometime in 2024 as they work on an Unreal Engine 5 remaster of the original game, which, as you can probably guess, is the good news. The worse news is that you’re going to have to pony up some cash for the remaster as it’s going to be sold separately as ARK: Survival Ascended.

Studio Wildcard says that they’ve decided to put ARK 2 on the backburner while they get themselves up to speed on Unreal Engine 5 and will be adjusting their development pipeline accordingly. Subsequently, the team says that they won’t be releasing screenshots and gameplay footage of the sequel this year, although they do note that it will be an entirely different game with “significant design changes” that may not appeal to those looking for a hardcore survival experience.

As for ARK: Survival Ascended, it’s being billed as a “next-generation remaster” which will launch on both PC and consoles in late August. It will feature the original Island and Survival of the Fittest game modes with plans to add new “non-canon” DLC maps over time, along with new features such as cross-platform play, cross-platform modding support, seasonal events, and various quality-of-life improvements.

The remaster will initially be available as part of the ARK Respawned Bundle which will include a copy of ARK 2 and will set you back $49.99. The bundle will only be available for a year to PC and Xbox Series X|S users following its release at the end of August, after which they’ll then be sold as separate games. It will also include access to ARK 2’s month-long closed beta test in 2024. PlayStation 5 users will be able to purchase a standalone copy of ARK: Survival Ascended for $39.99.

Unfortunately, the remaster’s release will also mark the end of development for ARK: Survival Evolved. The game is set to receive its final update in June alongside the start of its 8th anniversary celebration with the official servers set to go dark when ARK: Survival Ascended comes out.

The game won’t be shutting down entirely though as players will still be able to play on unofficial and private servers. They’ll also be given the chance to download save states of the official servers for use on their own servers. The team will also be rolling out occasional fixes when needed.

As expected, reaction to the news has been generally negative and the ARK subreddit is now being flooded with disappointed posts and memes.