2025 seemed like the yearArk: Survival Ascendedand the franchise would expand, but now I am more concerned than ever. Despite its technical demands,Ascendedstarted as an enormous success for the franchise. However, the recent track record of poor decisions and unfriendly user decisions has quickly derailed any progress.
Even thoughAscendedhas a roadmap for 2025, any deadline they set has proven unreliable.This has left the franchise with plans but never any concrete expectations from the community. The sole exception would beAstraeos, which was released ahead of schedule. However, this premium map was largely created by dedicated players, meaning it was likely much easier to speed up.
Ark: Aquatica Is Causing Issues
A Seemingly Lazy Effort
The most recent arguable disaster for the franchise is thecontroversial announcement ofAquatica. This map is based on an Ark that crashed into the ocean and takes place almost entirely underwater. However,the issue here is that it is being made forEvolved, and while this could mean it will eventually come toAscended, it seems like an unnecessary step back to a perfect game that was already completed.
“You Should Be Ashamed” - Ark: Survival Evolved Trailer Delisted After Fan Backlash
Ark: Survival Evolved’s Aquatica DLC trailer receives an overwhelmingly negative response from fans for its allegedly AI-generated voice and visuals.
When the game started to leak out, a concern was that it could be further delaying content forAscendedorArk 2. Luckily,Aquaticais being developed by a separate team,so there shouldn’t be any issue with content development. Still, a studio becoming notorious for delays suddenly announcing an entirely new map for a seemingly finished game is a fair cause for concern.
Aquaticadid have an in-engine gameplay trailer, but it was relatively light and did not paint a good picture of what to expect from the update.
To make matters worse,the announcement trailer was seemingly made completely by AI. This was a large slap in the face to much of the community and those who take pride in this kind of work.Aquaticadid have an in-engine gameplay trailer, but it was relatively light and did not paint a good picture of what to expect from the update.
What Is The State of Ark 2?
A Game Stuck In Development
Numerous delays pushed the highly anticipated sequel to late 2024, and that date passed with no update. The only semblance of news that was given was the announcement ofLost Colony, anew story expansion that will fill the gaps between the previous story and lead intoArk 2. This didn’t give a date, but it showed that the company is still working on the sequel.
Studio Wildcard has reassured fans it is still working onArk 2, though this could be animplementation intoAscendedwhen they announceda separate team is developing Aquatica. However, this does not mean the game will launch in 2025. The roadmap again comes into play since theAscendedversions ofGenesisare set for April and August 2026.IfArk 2is not planning to launch untilAscendedis caught up, this could mean late 2026 or even early 2027.
Will 2025 Doom The Ark Franchise?
A Must-Win Situation
2025 was already in rocky waters, given the amount of microtransaction contentArkhad added betweenArk: Survival Ascended’s premium modsand item packs. Compiling this with all the controversy surroundingAquaticacould lead to trouble for the beloved prehistoric survival game.Lost Colonywill be a big chance for Studio Wildcard to prove they can still release quality contentwithout the same controversy. However, ifLost Colonyproves to be a failure, the preexisting situation will worsen.
10 Worst Ark: Survival Ascended Dinos & Creatures You Shouldn’t Bother Taming
There are some dinos in Ark: Survival Ascended that you may leave alone entirely and yet do even better in the game than if you tamed them.
2025 is unlikely to be the final nail in the franchise’s coffin, but it could be the first one. If the controversy over Studio Wildcard’s practices continues and the new content can’t live up to expectations, then the excitement/love for the franchise could plummet. IfArk 2continues to be delayed into 2026 or beyond, that is likely to drastically harm any hype for the franchise, and if it releases poorly, it could be the final nail.
Overall, it is a shame that a franchise as unique and beloved as this is now under such dire straights. There may not be a financial crunch, as the game still makes a sizable profit, but the community’s opinion of the game is on the line. Hopefully, bothAquaticaandLost Colonycan be amazing pieces of content to add to an already talented franchise. However, if this is not the case, 2025 may be the year fans should start worrying about theArkfranchise.
Ark: Survival Ascended
ARK: Survival Ascended is a reimagined version of the 2017 action-adventure survival MMORPG by the developers at Studio Wildcard and Grove Street Games. Built in Unreal Engine 5, players will return to ARK to build tribes, fight and tame dinosaurs, and brave the elements as they battle to survive in a unique sandbox where crafting and resource management is essential.
