Ark 2, blink twice if you're OK: Xbox announces a playable demo of the survival crafting sequel at Gamescom and then unannounces it

The last time we heard about Ark 2, the sequel to the popular dinosaur survival RPG, it was scheduled to come out by the end of this year in early access. Although it's been over a year since that news came out, when Microsoft put it on its list of playable demos at Gamescom, it seemed like we'd finally get an update on the Vin Diesel-starring sequel. And then it got removed.

"Ark 2 was originally listed as playable on the Xbox booth—this mention was made in error, and has been removed," reads the editor's note at the bottom of the post. We were this close to seeing evidence that Ark 2 is in fact a real videogame and not just a name attached to a bizarre trailer with Vin Diesel and Auli'i Cravalho riding a dinosaur.

Neither Studio Wildcard nor its co-developer Grove Street Games has said anything about the project since it missed its original 2023 release date. If Ark 2 is real and still coming out this year, it's going to be one of the weirdest surprise drops we've had in a while.

Microsoft paid a whole $2.3 million to have Ark 2 exclusively on Game Pass for three years, according to a 2022 SEC filing. It's been four years since the game was announced and nobody is even sure if it's a proper sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved. That answer may lie in Ark: The Animated Series, but the last seven episodes of the show have yet to appear on Paramount+.

The first Ark remains a popular multiplayer sandbox game on Steam, actively hovering around the top 50 most played games. The remaster, Ark: Survival Ascended, does not, but it's still in early access and steadily receiving updates, like the ability to paint your dinosaurs in Olympic colors, apparently. There are no shortage of people eager for Ark 2, and it'll be a shame if we're still in the dark on it this time next year.