Ark 2 stars Vin Diesel?
A surprising quantity of celebrity
"Is that Vin Diesel?" I asked, watching the announcement trailer for ARK 2. "Have they copied Vin Diesel's face?" Then he grunted. "IS THAT A REAL VIN DIESEL GRUNT?" Then he spoke. IT IS VIN DIESEL. Yes, Riddick/Groot/Dom stars in the sequel to Studio Wildcard's dinosaur-hunting sandbox survival game, which is... what is this even going to be? They also announced an Ark animated series with a voice cast including Karl Urban, David Tennant, Michelle Yeoh, Elliot Page, and Russell Crowe. What is going on.
Studio Wildcard haven't explained anything about the game yet, so it's a big ol' mystery. The trailer certainly makes it look like a God Of War-sorta dad 'n' kid adventure rather than a survival sandbox, but it is only a trailer. I'm wary of Ark trailers in particular because none have ever captured my experiences with Ark: Survival Evolved - of not having any cool stuff, and needing to turn the draw distance down to five metres so my PC doesn't melt.
I suppose they could take the sequel in a radically different direction while the original keeps chugging on? Mysteries. Weird mysteries.
Also weird: the star lineup assembled for Ark: The Animated Series. Look at these names!
That's wild. What a remarkable series of things to spring from a survival sandbox riddled with grinding and griefing. It sure looks like they're trying to redirect its runaway success into something more prestigious.