This week was always destined to be one of the most important weeks in Ark history. Lost Colony, new DLC arc survival ascendedis the first completely original full-size expansion for Ark fans in years. So begins the story of Studio Wildcard’s ambitious sequel. arc 2but that project was far from launch and I was wondering how it would fill the void going forward. Now, adding to the excitement, ASA’s new roadmap for the next two years has been revealed, and it includes even more all-new and original enhancements. Oh, and as a bonus, Studio Wildcard has set a new Ark 2 release date window.
Well, let’s start with the Lost Colony. After some last-minute delays, this new expansion is finally live for Ark Survival Ascended players. This is by far the most important DLC the dinosaur game has ever received. Primarily supported by a remaster of the Survival Evolved expansion, Wildcard gets creative for the first time in a while. It’s not only a story that gives us a glimpse of what’s to come in Ark 2, but also gameplay. New features, such as NPC slaves to fight alongside you, are also planned for a sequel eventually, but are being rolled out early so the community can understand.
Lost Colony also features a star-studded cast, with many of the big names from the Ark animated series reprising their roles. Alongside previously announced names such as Michelle Yeoh, The Boys star Karl Urban is lending the likeness (as well as voice) to the iconic character Bob. As for the expansion’s more prehistoric characters, over a dozen new beasts can be found across the new Arat Prime map, from the psychedelic Groons to the “flying fortress” Gigadesmodus.
The Lost Colony expansion for Ark Survival Ascended is live now and costs $29.99 / £29.99. But in an unexpected twist, this long-awaited DLC is perhaps the third most interesting piece of Ark news this week.
The first big revelation is ASA’s new roadmap. ASA’s new roadmap shows what’s coming to replace Ark 2, but Studio Wildcard told me earlier this year that it’s still a long way off. The backlash to Ark 2 made me wonder if there would be more original ASA content to get fans on side, and I was proven right. There will be seven major content drops over the next two years.
First up is a reimagining of Survival of the Fittest, a junky but promising PvP spin-off experience that’s been around in the Ark community for years. This will be handled by Studio Sirens, a separate team from Studio Wildcard. Later in 2026, a new pirate-themed Bob’s Tall Tales DLC will drop. Following this, a new tool called Ark World Creator will be integrated into ASA in Q3. There’s already a healthy modding scene, especially for the first game, Survival Evolved, which is an in-house UGC feature in the same vein as things like Fortnite Creative. 2026 ends with a brand new expansion called Dragontopia.
2027 is just as important. In Atlantis, another original expansion, things seem to be heading under the waves of the ocean. Another Bob’s Tall Tales DLC is coming. This time it’s titled Galaxy Wars, which focuses on spaceship battles. And the grand finale of this roadmap: Santiago’s legacy. Another all-new expansion that further lifts the lid on Ark 2 will also bring out some of its gameplay innovations, similar to Lost Colony.
“The logo is a placeholder, but the intent is pretty much set in stone. We have a multi-year plan to build out huge gameplay additions and canonical story expansions for Ark Survival Ascended, in addition to tons of free maps, creatures, and features,” said Jeremey Stieglitz, director of development at Studio Wildcard, in a quote provided exclusively to . “And in case you were wondering, yes, Santiago’s Ark Legacy will be a test case for many of the features and designs we intend to incorporate into Ark 2.Ark Survival Evolved’s lifecycle lasted 10 years, and it is our hope that ASA will grow towards that milestone as well. We thank our community for their continued patience and look forward to working with them to evolve the game we love for many years to come.”
As if the new expansion and stacked roadmap weren’t enough, there’s a third development to talk about. In an interview on the Epic Games Store Blog, Stieglitz said that Studio Wildcard has the “intent” to launch Ark 2 in 2028. That’s somewhat expected since The Legacy of Santiago won’t be released until late 2027, but it’s good to finally see Wildcard’s internal expectations for the sequel confirmed.
However, with all of Wildcard’s future plans, there is one caveat. The studio is notorious for delays and pushback on content, as evidenced by Ark 2 being shrouded in mystery before things started to clear up this year, and the nudge Lost Colony just received. Studio Wildcard is doing a good job, but I wouldn’t be shocked if at least two of these release windows were changed. Still, this is a special week in the world of Ark, and Lost Colony is just one of the reasons why.
