Ark Survival: Ascended saw a big year of gameplay updates and expansions from Studio Wildcard throughout 2024. The survival game full of dinosaurs and other incredible beasts has had some visual improvements and map expansion not available in the original Ark: Survival Evolved. With multiple launch delays, there is some uncertainty about where Survival Ascended is going and the long-awaited sequel, Ark 2. As this was the first full year of release of Survival AscendedThere is still a lot of progress in the remastered title that would allow for more quality of life and expanded gameplay mechanics.
What can players expect from Studio Wildcard and its plans related to the series? Since the Extinction expansion was released almost two months after the planned date, it is completely possible that there will be an additional Ark 2 delay, leaving players waiting perhaps an entire year longer for the new game. There have been some updates to the Ascended Survival roadmap that was initially said to disburse all upgrade plans, but not much. For now, players should revel in the Extinction expansion rather than looking too far into the future.
More news about Ark 2
Could a launch happen in 2025?
Although there hasn't been much news about Ark 2there are some jokes in the general community that it may never get out. So far, the premise Ark 2 follows the story of Santiago and his journey to protect his daughter Meeka, with these characters being voiced by Vin Diesel and Auli'i Cravalho respectively. Knowing that these two will be the game's main voice actors promotes a greater set of expectations for Ark 2but there hasn't been much news about the current status of the project.
Studio Wildcard confirmed that the game is being made on Unreal Engine 5,"incredibly new technology"to the developer, according to the official Ark website. It would be a logical explanation for the delay in Ark 2 should be attributed to continued exploration of the development engine, as Wildcard has said it wants to use UE5 to "your full potential" to increase the quality of the project. As the studio has Ascended Survival To focus on improving your skills, it would be a better decision to focus on creating a more functional game. Despite the supposed release date of late 2024, There is no officially confirmed release date for Ark 2.
More content for Ark: Survival Ascended
New expansions throughout 2025
The expected release roadmap for Ascended Survival it was loosely followed by Studio Wildcard. It is believed that there will be a lot for Wildcard to improve throughout the rest of the expansions. The last expansion pack released for Ascended Survival and the Extinction pack that places players in a post-apocalyptic world involving new creatures and the dregs of an advanced civilization. Extinction was released almost two months latequestioning whether the rest of the script will be followed as closely as it was before this point.
In the future, there are plans for more Ascended Survival content to be released by the last quarter of 2025. There will be at least six additional content updates for Ascended Survival in the form of maps and game expansions. These interesting maps range from captivating crystalline formations, biome-specific variants, and even special colony ships. There was no real information shared about much of the upcoming content outside of the names: Valguero, Genesis Part 1 and 2, Crystal Isles, Lost Isle, and Fjordur. Hopefully the release of the next map won't be affected by the delays, but it will be interesting to see how the developers utilize UE5 in the future.
Ark: Survival Ascended needs major improvements
Bug fixes and balance updates are frequently requested
One of the biggest complaints about Ascended Survival is that many of the bugs that were prevalent throughout Evolved Survival they were never fixed. As it has been a full year since release, many players want progression bugs fixed above all else. There were several bugs where single-player saves would frequently fail and cause players to lose entire sessions of progress with the click of a button. There is a big problem with different dinosaurs spawning within location grids that prevent them from being looted or killed. This makes many progression factors quite difficult.
We hope not only that these bugs will be fixed, or at least acknowledged, in 2025, but that there will be some much-needed quality of life improvements while the issues are still being worked out with UE5. A revamp of some of the current features would be a welcome addition to the Ascended Survival next year. Adding additional combat-focused traits would be key to expanding how these traits are utilized, especially with the addition of a “glass cannon” type trait or other simple traits. While it may seem like there is an ever-growing list of demands for Studio Wildcard, there are high hopes for the coming year of Ark: Ascended Survival.
Sources: Ark: Ascended Survival/YouTube, Ark