Following on from the recent Ark countdown, we now have information about Studio Wildcard’s recent announcement. It’s been revealed that Ark Genesis is their upcoming expansion.
We now know that Ark Genesis comes in two parts. The first expansion starting in December this year and the second in Winter 2020.
There is also a new cosmetic pet, HONA that you can use straight away if you have the season pass.
While you can look forward to the new map and everything that comes with Ark Genesis, you can explore with HONA now.
HONA is one of the first NPC’s within the game that can actually talk and react to what you are doing within the game. She is a partial imprint of another NPC, Helena, that imprinted part of herself into HONA.
As with all new expansions for Ark, we can expect some new creatures too. Thankfully the teaser gave us some insight into what we can expect to see.
Above is a glimpse of some of the creatures shown during the live stream. This includes a giant turtle like creature and a cute animal that transforms into a 4 armed beast after ingesting a currently unknown food source.
It was also mentioned during the live stream that a sequel had potentially been on the books. However, if they wanted to continue polishing the game, they must produce additional revenue.
They also suggested that they may support the game for a further 2 years now. This might lead to future expansions (if the past is anything to go by).
As with most live stream events or social media posts, the Ark community were pretty active. There were many people venting on the live stream and giving a piece of their mind, so to speak.
The general consensus of the live stream’s chat is as follows. This takes into account the most mentioned topics:
- Fix the mesh issues as well as other bugs
- Bring back SOTF (Survival of the Fittest)
The chat saw very mixed responses to these requests, with many backing them. However, others requested they focus on the game’s future, defending the developers.
Personally, I feel Studio Wildcard haven’t always been the greatest at public appearances. However, they seem to understand the need to fund a project as well as understanding that they have always been active in patching the game. Regardless of how successful they’ve been, I’ve always applauded their efforts.
Many people also picked up on the loss of sound during the live stream of Ark Genesis, as well as the music during the talking. Many people were calling out for the team to talk up.
One person even commented stating “The quality of this production reflects on their game”. This is certainly a concern for the upcoming Ark Genesis expansion.
Some people, as expected, commented on the disappointment of a countdown to a further wait for more content. Some referencing the similar announcement method to Extinction.
Ark Genesis seems to be taking the game further into the sci-fi genre, which whilst I’m sure many people would love this, somehow it feels like a step in the wrong direction for me.
Personally I would prefer to go back to the roots of Ark, before tech started becoming a prominent part of the game. After all, I started playing Ark for the dinosaurs, not futuristic lasers and jet packs.
Should the game continue to develop as the devs suggested, I’m personally hoping for a new updated Primitive Plus conversion.
Undoubtedly, we will start to hear more about the development plans for Ark Genesis. Once we know more we will let you know.
We would love to hear your thoughts on Ark Genesis on the comments below.
