This week was at all times destined to be some of the essential in Ark’s historical past. Misplaced Colony, the brand new DLC for Ark Survival Ascended, is the primary completely authentic, full-size growth that Ark followers have had in years. It tees up the narrative for Studio Wildcard’s formidable sequel, Ark 2, however with that challenge nowhere close to launching, I used to be questioning how it might fill the upcoming void. Nicely, so as to add to the frenzy, a brand new roadmap for the subsequent two years of ASA has been revealed, containing extra all-new, authentic expansions. Oh, and high all of it off, Studio Wildcard has now set a brand new Ark 2 launch date window.
Proper, let’s begin with Misplaced Colony. After some last-minute delays, the brand new growth is now lastly reside for Ark Survival Ascended gamers, and it is by far and away essentially the most vital DLC that the dinosaur recreation has obtained so far. Largely supported with remasters of Survival Developed expansions, this sees Wildcard flex its inventive muscle groups for the primary time in a protracted whereas. Not solely is it a story glimpse at what’s to come back in Ark 2, nevertheless it’s a gameplay one too. New options, such because the NPC thralls that you may recruit to combat alongside you, are additionally destined for the eventual sequel, however are being rolled out early so the group can familiarize yourself with them.
Misplaced Colony additionally contains a star-studded solid, with lots of the huge names from the Ark animated sequence reprising roles. Alongside beforehand introduced names like Michelle Yeoh, The Boys star Karl City now lends his likeness (in addition to his voice) to iconic character Bob. As for the growth’s extra prehistoric characters, over a dozen new beasts might be discovered throughout the brand new Arat Prime map, from the psychedelic Gloons to the “flying fortress” that’s the Gigadesmodus.
Ark Survival Ascended’s Misplaced Colony growth is reside proper now, costing $29.99 / £29.99. Nonetheless, in a wild flip of occasions, this extremely anticipated DLC might be the third-most thrilling little bit of Ark information this week.
The primary huge revelation is a brand new roadmap for ASA, which tees up what’s forward in lieu of Ark 2, which Studio Wildcard advised me earlier within the 12 months was nonetheless a good distance off. I puzzled if the pushback to Ark 2 would end in extra authentic ASA content material to maintain followers on facet, and I have been confirmed proper. Over the subsequent two years, seven key content material drops will arrive.
First up is a reimagining of Survival of the Fittest, a janky however promising PvP spinoff expertise that is been within the Ark group for years. That is being dealt with by Studio Sirens, a separate group from Studio Wildcard. Later in 2026, a brand new pirate-themed Bob’s Tall Tales DLC will drop. Following that in Q3, a brand new instrument referred to as Ark World Creator might be built-in into ASA. Whereas there’s already a wholesome modding scene, particularly within the first recreation, Survival Developed, that is an in-house UGC characteristic in the identical vein as one thing like Fortnite Artistic. 2026 will then finish with an all-new growth referred to as Dragontopia.
2027 is simply as vital. One other authentic growth, Atlantis, will seemingly see issues head beneath the ocean waves. One other Bob’s Tall Tales DLC will arrive, this time titled Galaxy Wars, which leans on spaceship battles. Then, the grand finale of this roadmap – Legacy of Santiago. One more all-new growth that may raise the lid much more on Ark 2, and equally to Misplaced Colony, will get a few of its gameplay improvements out within the wild, too.
“Whereas the logos are placeholder, the intentions are very a lot set: now we have a multi-year plan to construct out big gameplay additions and canonical narrative expansions for Ark Survival Ascended, along with tons of free maps, creatures, and options,” Jeremey Stieglitz, Studio Wildcard’s improvement director, says in a quote supplied completely to PCGamesN. “And as you could be questioning, sure, Ark Legacy of Santiago goes to be a test-case for lots of the options and designs we intend to include in Ark 2. Ark Survival Developed’s lifecycle lasted an excellent ten years, and our hope is to see ASA develop into that milestone as properly. We’re grateful for the Ark group’s continued perseverance, and we look ahead to evolving the sport we love with them for years to come back.”
As if a brand new growth and a stacked roadmap wasn’t sufficient, there is a third improvement to speak about. Talking to the Epic Video games Retailer weblog in an interview, Stieglitz says that its Studio Wildcard’s “intention” to launch Ark 2 in 2028. Whereas that’s considerably assumed with Legacy of Santiago not coming till the tip of 2027, it is good to lastly get affirmation of Wildcard’s inner expectations for the sequel.
One phrase of warning, nevertheless, for all of Wildcard’s future plans – the studio has change into infamous for delays and pushbacks on its content material, as was evidenced by Ark 2’s mysterious absence earlier than issues began to get cleared up this 12 months, and the nudges that Misplaced Colony simply obtained. Whereas Studio Wildcard does good work, I might would not be shocked if at the least a few these launch home windows obtained shifted. Nonetheless, this week has been a rare one on this planet of Ark, and Misplaced Colony is just a small proportion of the the reason why.
