ARK: Aquatica — the brand new growth for ARK: Survival Developed — lastly has a launch date, and it is quickly: July 15, to be exact.
Snail Games announced its “in-house developed new expansion map, Ark: Aquatica” at GDC in March. The studio described the growth as a non-canonical aspect story to Ark in “an bold underwater setting that includes 95% of gameplay happening beneath the floor.” Nevertheless, the Ark: Survival Developed growth trailer launched alongside the announcement was resoundingly condemned after followers found proof of generative AI imagery.
OG developer Studio Wildcard instantly distanced itself from the dialogue, clarifying on social media that Ark: Aquatica was not being developed by its group. It additionally revealed Ark: Misplaced Colony, a brand new growth for Ark: Survival Ascended that may lead into the sequel, though since lacking its beforehand deliberate late 2024 launch window, the way forward for Ark 2 stays unclear.
ARK: Aquatica introduces the primary submerged ARK with above-water islands, “difficult gamers with new survival mechanics, excessive environmental hazards, an enormous explorable map space, and distinctive gameplay components”.
The underwater biome provides 21 new tameable creatures, 74 new Engrams — together with seven tek Engrams — and underwater survival due to options like air pockets and propulsion autos.
Maybe unsurprisingly, the latest teaser has been under intense fan scrunity, with some going so far as to implore others to report it to Steam in the event that they suspect anything is generated by AI. Some are additionally questioning the aim of the trailer posted to Snail Video games’ YouTube, with one asking of the 11-second teaser: “Okay, so what the f**ok does this inform me in regards to the growth?”
“I’m 200% positive that this replace was created to kill all current mods and plugins,” added one other YouTube commenter.
ARK: Aquatic is in growth by Studio Sirens to “commemorate the 10-year anniversary of ARK: Survival Developed” and will probably be obtainable solely on PC. A worth has but to be confirmed.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, in addition to a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years expertise working with a few of the world’s largest gaming websites and publications. She’s additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually Excessive Chaos. Discover her at BlueSky.