ARK 2 is the in-development sequel to ARK: Survival Evolved, targeting a 2028 release. The game is not yet playable, and this guide is a pre-launch primer. For a broader summary, see the main overview.
How to Follow Along
Wishlist on Steam.
The Steam page is live under App ID 2050420. Wishlisting fires a notification on every milestone.
Pre-order on Xbox when listings open.
ARK 2 is a launch console exclusive on Xbox Series X|S. The store listing will be the cleanest path to a day-one console copy.
Plan around Game Pass day-one.
ARK 2 is confirmed for day-one inclusion on PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass.
Do not wait for a demo.
There is no demo, no beta, and no playable build available.
What You'll Be Doing
The campaign casts the player as a clone of Santiago da Costa, who wakes up on the alien planet Arat stripped of advanced technology and starting over from primitive tools.
Primitive start.
Initial weaponry is bone, stone, wood, and early metal. Sci-fi gear is not the launch focus.
Third-person Souls-like melee.
The
uses a locked third-person camera with light and heavy attacks, blocks, dodges, target lock, staggers, and parry windows.
Hostile native faction.
The
tame and ride their own dinosaurs.
Modular crafting.
Weapons and tools assemble from interchangeable parts that combine to determine reach, damage, and visual style.
Smaller-tribe focus.
Squad-scale cooperative play, not the mega-tribes of the original.
Console mod support.
Mods are supported on consoles through the mod.io platform.
Major Pillars
Pillar | What It Means |
|---|---|
Third-person, Souls-like melee with target lock, dodges, blocks, parries, staggers, and combos. Primitive weaponry only at launch. | |
Crafting | Modular weapon and tool assembly. Components combine into different damage profiles, reach, and silhouettes. |
World on Arat | A single named alien planet. Creature AI uses sight, sound, and smell instead of a constant radar. |
Native sentient antagonists. They tame their own dinosaurs and treat the tribe as an invading force. | |
Tribes | Smaller cooperative groups. Squad-scale play with tighter coordination. |
Skill Tree | RPG progression spent through experience and knowledge points, shaping combat, crafting, and traversal. |
Story Setup
The story is a direct narrative successor to Genesis: Part 2. After that closing chapter, the Genesis Colony Ship is destroyed, and the Eden ring escape pods scatter survivors across Arat. The clone the player controls wakes up there with no advanced gear. Santiago does not arrive alone: his daughter Meeka travels with him, reframing the survival loop into a parent protecting a child rather than the lone-survivor framing of the original.
Recommended On-Ramp
While waiting, two existing entries function as a useful runway. ARK: Lost Colony, the December 2025 narrative bridge expansion, introduces story threads that feed into the sequel's setup. ARK: Survival Ascended, the Unreal Engine 5 remaster, is the most current way to experience the established gameplay loops on modern hardware.
In 2027, the Legacy of Santiago expansion arrives for ARK: Survival Ascended. It is designed as a public test bed for ARK 2's new combat direction, and playing it is the closest available preview of how the sequel will feel.
Status
Question | Current Status |
|---|---|
Playable? | No. No demo, no beta, no public build. |
Gameplay shown? | No. Only cinematic trailers to date. |
Announced? | December 2020. |
Release window? | 2028. The fourth publicly stated window after 2022, 2023, and end-of-2024. |
Platforms? | Xbox Series X|S launch console exclusive plus PC. PS4 ruled out. PS5 not announced. |
Engine? | Unreal Engine 5. |
Day-one subscription? | Yes. PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass. |
Mod support? | Yes, on consoles too, through mod.io. |
For the full slip-by-slip breakdown, see release history and delays.
Pre-Launch Checklist
Wishlist ARK 2 on Steam under App ID 2050420.
Follow
on official community channels for roadmap drops and gameplay reveals.
Watch developer livestreams as they air through 2026 and 2027.
Play
when it ships in 2027 on ARK: Survival Ascended. It is the first hands-on preview of the sequel's combat system.
Exact controls, default keybinds, demo timing, system requirements, and PS5 platform availability have not been disclosed publicly. This article will be updated as the studio shares verified details.