A YouTuber named GP has apparently been able to ask Studio Wildcard CEO Douglas H. Kennedy some exclusive questions about ARK 2. In the conversation, Kennedy revealed when information about the highly anticipated survival hit will be available and whether a release on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch is possible. So far, players have assumed an exclusive deal between Wildcard and Microsoft, which would mean an “ARK 2” release only for the Xbox Series S/X and PC.
Where do the new information come from? The CEO of Studio Wildcard Douglas H. Kennedy posted on the social media platform LinkedIn on May 19, 2022, that he is looking for a AAA developer studio for mobile games to develop a version of ARK 2 for mobile platforms.
Following the post, there was an interaction between the Wildcard CEO and YouTuber GP. The sequence of events is shown here:
- The YouTuber GP saw the LinkedIn post about “ARK 2” mobile and created a video on the topic.
- Then a YouTube account named “Doug Kennedy” commented on the video. This account gave the impression that it was Studio Wildcard CEO Douglas H. Kennedy.
- The YouTube account Doug Kennedy then addressed questions and comments from ARK fans in the comments section of the video.
- Additionally, the YouTube account Doug Kennedy offered the video creator to provide him with some information and details directly via LinkedIn and answer questions.
- In a second video, GP later shared the answers he received from Douglas H. Kennedy in the written conversation via LinkedIn.
- The received information was about a possible PS5 release, a Switch version, and the official announcement of new information from Wildcard.
If you are interested in ARK: Survival Evolved or ARK 2 but are not sure if the games are for you, check out our video “ARK: Survival Evolved in 2 Minutes”.
ARK 2 on PS5 and Nintendo Switch
Will there be ARK 2 on PS5 and Switch? In the second video of the YouTuber GP, which he published after the allegedly exclusive conversation with Douglas Kennedy, statements from the Wildcard CEO can be seen. In these conversation excerpts, it is said that the developer studio wants to make ARK and ARK 2 available on “as many platforms as possible”.
Moreover, it is stated that players can expect that at some point the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 will be among the platforms on which ARK 2 is released. This statement contradicts the previous assumption that ARK 2 would only be released on PC and Xbox Series S/X.
In that case, the exclusive deal between Wildcard and Microsoft would have been misinterpreted. The previous assumption was that ARK 2 would be released exclusively for Xbox and PC.
The deal would mean according to the new information that at the official release of the game, it would only be released as a time-exclusive for Xbox and PC and would appear on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch at a later date.
I will say this: It is always our plan to make ARK and ARK 2 available on as many platforms as possible for as many people as possible, so you can expect Switch and PlayStation to be in this mix at some point.
Studio Wildcard CEO Douglas H. Kennedy in a conversation with YouTuber GP
ARK 2 at the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase?
When can we expect new information about ARK 2? In addition to a possible PS5 and Switch release, Kennedy apparently indicated in the conversation with the YouTuber that the studio would publish its plans for ARK 2 in June. Specifically, in the next two weeks, Studio Wildcard has “a lot of news to announce”.
We have a lot of news to announce in the next 2 weeks, a whole lot. […] We will announce our plans in June.
Studio Wildcard CEO Douglas H. Kennedy in a conversation with YouTuber GP
Even before the release of the video that circulated this information, there were rumors about the release of new information about ARK 2 on June 12.
On that day, the “Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022” will take place, during which many trailers for various games were shown last year. Additionally, on that day, the popular mod map “Fjördur” will be officially released in ARK: Survival Evolved.
Due to the (time-based) exclusive deal with Microsoft, it is quite possible that on June 12 new information such as the release date or a trailer will be shown.
If there should be new information on June 12, 2022, regarding the successor to the popular survival hit, you will see it in our “ARK 2” overview:
There is uncertainty about the origin of the information
How reliable is the information? Currently, it is unclear how trustworthy or reliable the new information is. They correspond exactly to the speculations that have already existed in the ARK community in recent months and therefore do not seem to be pulled out of thin air.
The LinkedIn post by Douglas H. Kennedy is also definitely real and viewable by people connected to the Wildcard CEO.
The authenticity of the YouTube account named “Doug Kennedy” is currently untraceable. It is neither verified nor does it have known and accessible contacts, exclusive material from the developer studio, or similar.
As of now, the YouTube account at least was not created shortly before the comments were made, as it has existed since 2014. Whether it is actually Douglas H. Kennedy from Studio Wildcard and whether the subsequent LinkedIn conversation actually took place in that form is not verifiable.
The YouTuber, whose channel contains the information, experienced a boost in views due to the attention the videos with the supposedly exclusive details received. While his videos generated between 25 and 160 views in the past weeks, the two most recent videos with the new “ARK 2” news received over 2,000 views.
Below you can see the video of YouTuber GP, in which he shares the information he received from the allegedly conducted conversation between him and the Wildcard CEO:
An exciting topic that ARK fans are already pondering before the release of ARK 2 is the availability of flying creatures in the successor to the survival hit.
Some players feel that this would make the game too easy, while others do not want to miss their beloved birds and flying dinosaurs.
ARK becomes too easy with flying creatures – That’s why the successor must do without them
