The Future of ARK Survival

Sep

21

2025

0

By Louis Bang Bang

ARK Survival Evolved by Wildcard

ARK: Survival Ascended demonstrates Wildcard's potential with Unreal 5 and new mechanics. However, the future of the series is overshadowed by the decisions of Snail Games, the debacle surrounding Aquatica, and the long wait for ARK 2. Despite setbacks, ARK remains one of the most exciting survival franchises, whose story is far from over.

ARK has been one of the defining survival dino franchises for over eight years. ARK: Survival Evolved reached over 76 million sales by 2022 (including promotions and Game Pass), and the remaster ARK: Survival Ascended has already recorded over three million sales since its launch in October 2023. This makes ARK one of the most successful survival games of its generation. However, between ambitious announcements and disappointed expectations lie complex contracts, technical challenges, and divided communities. In this report, we trace how this came to be, where ARK and Wildcard stand today — and what role Snail Games, Nitrado, the Aquatica DLC, and ARK 2 play in this story.

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1) From Founding to Legal Dispute

The creation of ARK began in 2014. Jeremy Stieglitz, previously a co-founder at Trendy Entertainment, left the company under difficult circumstances. Due to a strict non-compete clause, he was not allowed to develop a competing product. Nevertheless, he worked with former colleagues on an idea that soon took shape as ARK: Survival Evolved. To avoid legal issues, his wife Susan Stieglitz initially appeared as a co-founder of Studio Wildcard.

However, the deception was not undiscovered for long. Trendy Entertainment sued Stieglitz and Wildcard for millions. To prevent the young studio from going under, Snail Games, a Chinese publisher and developer, was brought on board as an investor. This deal had far-reaching consequences: Wildcard was no longer the owner of its own brand but only acted as a developer under the umbrella of Snail Games.

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2) The First Major Success: ARK: Survival Evolved

In 2015, ARK: Survival Evolved was released in Early Access, and the full version followed in 2017. The game was a massive success: survival mechanics, crafting, base building, and the ability to tame dinosaurs made it unique. Despite technical problems and numerous bugs, ARK built a huge community.

Additional content such as Scorched Earth (2016), Aberration (2017), Extinction (2018), and the Genesis chapters (2020 and 2021) expanded the world. Mods flourished, and the ecosystem around unofficial servers grew. ARK was no longer a niche product but one of the most successful survival games ever.

2.1) All Official Story Maps

The Island – released August 29, 2017 (with the release of the main game).
The original map of ARK, a classic survival environment with tropical beaches, dense forests, mountains, snowy biomes, and volcanic areas. This is where the storyline around the ARKs began.
Scorched Earth – released September 1, 2016.
The first paid expansion. A pure desert map with sandstorms, oases, and ruins. Introduction of new creatures like Wyvern, Mantis, and Rock Elemental.
Aberration – released December 12, 2017.
A destroyed, underground ARK with radioactive zones, cave systems, and mutations. New creatures like Rock Drake, Reaper, and Basilisk shape the gameplay.
Extinction – released November 6, 2018.
Takes place on post-apocalyptic Earth. A mix of destroyed cities, wasteland, and biomes under protective domes. Exclusive creatures like Managarmr, Velonasaur, and Titans.
Arat Prime – announced for late 2025.
Is supposed to bridge the gap between Extinction and the Genesis chapters. Content has only been roughly outlined so far but is considered a central story transition.
Genesis: Part 1 – released February 25, 2020.
Mission-based simulation with five different biomes: volcano, ocean, swamp, ice, and moon. Accompanied by the AI Helena/HLN-A.
Genesis: Part 2 – released June 3, 2021.
The final story map from ASE, takes place on a massive generation spaceship. A mix of Eden Zone (green valleys) and Rockwell’s Garden (nightmarish biomes). Introduction of creatures like Astrodelphis and Noglin.

2.2) Free Official Maps

The Center – released May 17, 2016.
Double map size compared to The Island, with massive cave systems, floating islands, and deep oceans. One of the first community maps that was officially adopted.
Ragnarok – released June 12, 2017.
Huge map with volcanic zones, deserts, lakes, and a unique Wyvern trench. Particularly popular for its diversity and the mix of all biomes.
Valguero – released June 18, 2019.
Offers an expansive landscape with mountains, lakes, and the underground Aberration zone. One of the first maps to seamlessly connect multiple biomes.
Crystal Isles – released June 11, 2020.
Known for colorful crystal biomes, floating islands, and the exclusive creature Crystal Wyvern. A map with a strong fantasy character.
Lost Island – released December 14, 2021.
Tropical jungles, high mountain ranges, and a massive volcanic region. Notably, three exclusive creatures (Amargasaurus, Dinopithecus, and Sinomacrops) were introduced here for the first time.
Fjordur – released June 12, 2022.
Inspired by Norse mythology, with snow-covered peaks, fjords, Viking villages, and mystical realms (Jotunheim, Asgard, Vanaheim) accessible through portals.

This variety of maps kept ASE exciting for years, as each environment offered its own biomes, creatures, and challenges.

2.3) Creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved – All Variants

The world of ARK is characterized by a vast diversity of creatures. They range from classic dinosaurs to mythical beings to custom mutants and boss creatures. Each variant brings its own abilities, habitats, and challenges. Here you will find a comprehensive alphabetical list of all known creatures and their variants: Creatures - ARK Official Community Wiki.

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3) ARK 2 and Unreal Engine 5

With growing success came the pressure to develop a sequel. Thus, Wildcard announced ARK 2 in 2020 — featuring Hollywood star Vin Diesel as a prominent character and producer. However, it soon became clear that the project was more complex than expected. The game concept differed significantly from the original, which raised skepticism in the community.

At the same time, Wildcard promised to upgrade the existing ARK to Unreal Engine 5 for free. What was received with enthusiasm turned out to be a miscalculation: the effort was enormous, and a simple port was not feasible. Instead, they decided to release a paid remaster under the name ARK: Survival Ascended.

This decision sparked a storm of outrage. Many players accused Snail Games and Wildcard of greed. The idea of selling ASA only in a bundle with ARK 2 was particularly controversial. Under pressure, the responsible parties relented, and the remaster was ultimately released as a separate product.

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4) Snail Games, Nitrado, and the Server Issue

Another chapter of the ARK saga concerns hosting. The official ARK servers were operated by Nitrado (Marbis company) for years. However, the model incurred high costs: Snail Games had already accumulated over one million US dollars in debt to Nitrado for hosting. In 2023, a new contract was signed, making Nitrado the exclusive provider for ARK: Survival Ascended. In return, the existing debts were forgiven, and Nitrado additionally provided around three million US dollars in cash for free use.

This contract contained a sensitive clause: if ASA was not released by a specified deadline, the hosting of ARK: Survival Evolved would also be affected. It was clear: Wildcard had to deliver — regardless of the state of the game. The launch in October 2023 was correspondingly bumpy.

Additionally, there was an initial attempt to sell each individual map server separately. A cluster with five maps would have cost five times the full price of ARK. Only after massive criticism from the community, led by YouTuber NeddyTheNoodle, was this regulation discarded.

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5) Monetization and Community Division

The sales figures of ASA did not reach the heights of the original. Instead of having a unified player base, the community split into two camps: those who remained with ASE and those who switched to ASA.

To secure additional revenue, Snail Games relied on new models: paid DLCs like Bob’s Tales, paid mods via CurseForge, purchasable fantasy animals (“Fantastic Tames”), and licensed skins like the collaborations with Power Rangers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Some players found these contents thematically inappropriate, but they generated attention and money.

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6) ARK: The Animated Series

In addition to games, Wildcard also expanded the brand into other media. Notably, ARK: The Animated Series (trailer on YouTube), an anime-inspired production, is being released gradually since 2023. The series is based on the lore of ARK and tells the story of Helena Walker, a scientist who must survive in the dino world.

The series is available internationally on Paramount+ and features a star-studded cast: Vin Diesel, Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler, David Tennant, and many other acting greats lend their voices to the characters. The series is produced in close collaboration with Studio Wildcard, making the ARK storyline accessible to a broad audience outside the player base for the first time.

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7) The Aquatica Fiasco (or No Future for ASE)

In the summer of 2025, the low point followed: Snail Games announced a new DLC called Aquatica for the tenth anniversary of ARK: Survival Evolved. Instead of being seen as a gift, the community perceived it as an affront. Wildcard distanced itself early on and stated that the project would be developed by a new team, Studio Sirens, — without their involvement.

The result was catastrophic. Even the start menu did not function reliably, in-game crashes and frame drops piled up. Most importantly: almost all mods that had supported ASE for years suddenly became incompatible. Many clusters collapsed overnight.

The outrage was enormous. Only after massive criticism did Snail Games set up a “Pre-Aquatica” branch on Steam, allowing players and server operators to use the old version again. But the damage was done.

Currently, Studio Sirens is trying to improve things with patches and hotfixes, but the problems remain massive: mods are still largely unusable, many servers run unstable, and even basic game functions are problematic. Whether Snail Games will continue to finance these repairs in the long term is highly questionable.

This essentially leads to two possible scenarios for ASE:

Ongoing fixes: Studio Sirens continues the work into 2026 and stabilizes Aquatica step by step. Given the previous results and high costs, this scenario seems rather unlikely.
Freezing of support: It is more likely that Snail Games will leave ASE in a final state — possibly with or without the “Pre-Aquatica” beta branch, so that server operators can at least remain on a functioning version.

For the community, this means: ASE is still playable, but its future remains uncertain. Much indicates that Snail Games wants to steer the player base towards ARK: Survival Ascended in the medium term, even if this step will not be without friction.

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8) Wildcard Between Hope and Reality

While Snail Games damaged the brand with Aquatica, Wildcard is consistently focusing on ARK: Survival Ascended. Expansions like Lost Colony (expected to be released in December 2025) are planned to bridge the gap between Extinction and the Genesis chapters. Meanwhile, work continues on ARK 2, which is not expected before 2025 (roll a number between 1-6 and add it to 2026), but remains a long-term goal in the background.

ASA already shows the potential of the combination of Unreal Engine 5, modern graphics, and the unique survival dino concept. With each optimization, each additional map, and with growing hardware performance on PC and console, the chance increases that ASA will provide the experience players have been expecting for years.

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