The prehistoric survival game Ark 2 has been teased in a new trailer.
The video, which was shown during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, confirms that the sequel to 2017’s Ark: Survival Evolved is coming next year. although only one cinematic trailer, (opens in new tab) it demonstrates the core premise of the upcoming multiplayer title: survive in a hostile alien world populated by vicious dinosaurs ready to tear you to pieces. You’ll also be taming the beasts, allowing you to ride around as if you were participating in a Jurassic rodeo.
While no gameplay was shown, the teaser does offer some information about the upcoming game. Players will take on the role of descendants of interstellar human colonists who attempted to colonize a hostile exoplanet after Earth was destroyed in a brutal planetary war. Presumably it hasn’t been very good for them, as their descendants are reduced to using primitive caveman-like tools rather than the cutting-edge technology you’d expect from a space civilization.
“Survive the past. Tame the future,” reads the video’s description. “Suddenly awakened in a primeval world filled with dinosaurs and humans fighting for dominance, you must team up with legendary heroes to face powerful dark forces.”
Watch the gameplay below for a taste of the gigantic reptiles you’ll try to tame.
As in the first game, Ark 2 appears to be guided by a single evolutionary truism 2: the big dinosaur eats the little dinosaur. While the first extinct reptile shown in the video is little more than a measly dodo, each new creature introduced is getting bigger and bigger, until the last dinosaur shown is simply massive. Is it a T-Rex? Is it a Gigantosaurus? Who knows, but it’s ridiculously large.
Ark 2 currently doesn’t have a release date set outside of 2023. That could be in the second half of the year, so don’t expect a firmer date to be announced in the coming months. And if you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you’re in luck. The game will hit the subscription service on day one.
If you can’t wait to experience a prehistoric survival spot, you can always check out the first Ark game, Survival Evolved. Its Nintendo Switch port received a major overhaul earlier this year, finally fixing its glaring technical errors.