In 2015, the survival-adventure game, ARK: Survival Evolved , released — as a PC early access title — to unprecedented popularity for the genre, putting players in the shoes of a survivor stranded on the shores of a mysterious island.
The game's unique mechanic, which arguably made the title stand out above the rest within the genre, was hunting and taming mechanics using the dinosaurs that roam the land.
Five years on and there is no sign of ARK slowing down, with consistent updates still releasing to this day, including a holiday-themed “Winter Wonderland” update that released in early December.
The most interesting development as of late occurred at The Game Awards, in which publisher, Studio Wildcard, made the shocking announcement of a sequel, set to bring megastar Vin Diesel on board as a major character. Beyond lending his voice and looks to the title, Diesel is taking a further involvement with the sequel, serving as an executive producer. On top of that, Diesel was also appointed Studio Wildcard's president of creative convergence in December.
NEWS
In March of this year, the ARK: Survival Evolved team fixed a relatively minor bug in which Feroxes were tameable using berries; the team referred to the glitch and subsequent fix as an “after hours bug report.”
Berries will no longer tame the Ferox with our next major deployment. Thank you very much for the after hours bug report! 😉 pic.twitter.com/pO9i5H5m5l
Following the announcement of Vin Diesel's involvement with the ARK sequel, Dollie, ARK product manager, shared the bug was reported by Diesel himself.
Funfact: this bug was reported by Vin Diesel. No really. https://t.co/bQkbuPZFxd
WHAT THIS MEANS
With the consistent popularity of the original title, an ARK sequel announcement was already sure to generate mass excitement from the community, but the trailer's reveal of Vin Diesel's role as Santiago Da Costa only further amplified this.
Diesel's bug reporting and deeper role in the development of the sequel displays his clear love of the game, which will prove exciting for fans all over.
ARK 2 is set to release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2022.