Ark 2 delayed until 'end of 2024'
Ark 2 has been delayed until late 2024, according to a post on the dinosaur survival game's official site. While a specific date for the sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved has never been announced by Studio Wildcard, it was planned for sometime this year.
"After careful consideration, we have decided to delay the sequel's launch to the end of 2024, when it will still launch exclusively on Xbox, Game Pass, and Windows distribution platforms," the post reads. "We’ve put much thought into delaying ARK 2 for the betterment of the final product and the team's well-being. This news will be disappointing to many—we feel it too—but we’re confident this heavy decision is the right one."
Reasons for the delay include the complications of using the relatively new Unreal Engine 5, as well as some issues with the game's design itself:
"We also recognize that Ark 2 has some pretty significant design changes from the original game, which may not make it as appealing to everyone (looking at you, Souls-like combat, primitive-only weaponry, and strict third-person mechanics—and an overall "very serious" tone), which is why we feel it is essential to provide players with a fully next-gen version of the original experience to ensure that fans can continue to enjoy the Ark they know for years to come."
I'm not sure how you put a shirtless Vin Diesel on the back of a dinosaur and wind up with a very serious tone. Regardless, don't expect any new peeks at Ark 2 for quite some time. The post also says the developers "do not plan to showcase any gameplay/screenshots/videos of Ark 2 this year."
In addition to the delay into 2024, Studio Wildcard announced a remastered version of Ark: Survival Evolved in Unreal Engine 5, which it plans to release in August of this year. The remaster, called Ark: Survival Ascended, will include the base game plus a "revamped" Survival of the Fittest (Ark's version of battle royale), and all of the "non-canon" DLC maps.
In addition, an Ark Respawned bundle will be available, which will include both the Ark remaster and Ark 2, along with a month of closed beta access to Ark 2 prior to the game's launch. This bundle will cost $50, and will go on sale this August—but boy, I'm not sure I'd be leaping to buy a bundle that includes a game that won't be out until the end of next year.
You can read all the details of Ark: Survival Ascended and Ark 2 at the official site.