This week was at all times destined to be one of the vital 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 mission nowhere close to launching, I used to be questioning how it might fill the upcoming void. Effectively, 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 important DLC that the dinosaur recreation has acquired up to now. Largely supported with remasters of Survival Advanced expansions, this sees Wildcard flex its artistic muscle tissues 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 neighborhood can familiarize yourself with them.
Misplaced Colony additionally contains a star-studded solid, with most 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 could 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. Nevertheless, 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 instructed me earlier within the yr was nonetheless a great distance off. I puzzled if the pushback to Ark 2 would lead to 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 neighborhood for years. That is being dealt with by Studio Sirens, a separate crew 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 known as Ark World Creator shall be built-in into ASA. Whereas there’s already a wholesome modding scene, particularly within the first recreation, Survival Advanced, that is an in-house UGC function in the identical vein as one thing like Fortnite Inventive. 2026 will then finish with an all-new growth known as Dragontopia.
2027 is simply as important. 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 can 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: we’ve got a multi-year plan to construct out enormous gameplay additions and canonical narrative expansions for Ark Survival Ascended, along with tons of free maps, creatures, and options,” Jeremey Stieglitz, Studio Wildcard’s growth director, says in a quote offered solely to PCGamesN. “And as you could be questioning, sure, Ark Legacy of Santiago goes to be a test-case for most of the options and designs we intend to include in Ark 2. Ark Survival Advanced’s lifecycle lasted an excellent ten years, and our hope is to see ASA develop into that milestone as effectively. We’re grateful for the Ark neighborhood’s continued perseverance, and we sit up for 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 growth to speak about. Chatting with 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 yr, and the nudges that Misplaced Colony simply acquired. Whereas Studio Wildcard does good work, I would would not be shocked if at the least a few these launch home windows bought shifted. Nonetheless, this week has been a rare one on the planet of Ark, and Misplaced Colony is simply a small proportion of the the explanation why.
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