Studio Wildcard is planning a 2028 release for Ark 2, and it intends to use a big Ark: Survival Ascended expansion in late 2027 to trial major pieces of the sequel, the studio’s co-founder said during Snail Games’ Investor Day presentation, as reported by the Epic Games Store.
Jeremy Stieglitz told the interviewer that the roadmap begins with this week’s Lost Colony expansion and builds toward a Q4 2027 expansion called Legacy of Santiago, which he described as a prequel that will “test out a lot of that game’s mechanics and features.” Stieglitz added, “That’s our intention,” when asked if the schedule points to a 2028 Ark 2 launch.
The plan is partly practical. Stieglitz said Studio Wildcard wants to learn about both the technology and the mechanics in stages rather than try to ship a standalone Ark 2 without that phased testing. The Legacy of Santiago expansion will give the team live feedback on how certain systems play and how they fit into the story linking Ascended and the sequel.
The Ark 2 project has had public attention since its 2020 reveal at the Game Awards. Stieglitz also confirmed that the sequel’s narrative scope will depend in part on how much performance the team can get from Vin Diesel, who appeared in the original announcement trailer. “The question is: How much performance are we going to get from him?” Stieglitz said, noting different narrative plans based on how many recording days the actor can provide.
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