Ark: Survival Evolved fans blast AI-slop trailer for Aquatica DLC

Ark: Survival Evolved publisher Snail Games released a bizarre, poorly received trailer for a new expansion, Ark: Aquatica, on Wednesday, drawing immediate ire from the Ark-playing community. Even original Ark developer Studio Wildcard appeared to distance itself from the announcement trailer for Ark: Aquatica, clarifying on social media that it isn’t involved in the project.

The Ark: Aquatica backlash stems from the fact that the reveal trailer appears to have been almost completely AI-generated: both the video and the robotic voice narration that promises “a whole new world is waiting” in the underwater setting for Ark: Survival Evolved players.

The Aquatica trailer is full of the kind of uncanny generative-AI output that’s become the object of derision and scorn in recent years. Everything moves in an unnatural way. Limbs and extremities mutate and twist. And there’s an overall artificial sheen to everything rendered within. Viewers pulled no punches in their reaction to the trailer.

“This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves,” popular Ark streamer Syntac wrote in a comment on the expansion’s YouTube trailer.

“You are so out of touch with your audience,” wrote another popular Ark streamer, The AxeMan. “DO BETTER.”

In tandem with Snail Games’ reveal for Ark: Aquatica, developer Studio Wildcard said it had nothing to do with the expansion for the game. “ARK: Aquatica is being developed by [Snail Games] Colorado, please follow them for more updates,” said a post on Studio Wildcard’s X account. “ Studio Wildcard remains entirely dedicated to the production of ARK: Survival Ascended & ARK 2, and we’re excited to bring ARK: Lost Colony to you later this year!”

Ark: Survival Ascended, released in 2023 in early access, is Studio Wildcard’s Unreal Engine 5-powered remaster of Ark: Survival Evolved, which has been publicly playable since 2015. Earlier this week, Studio Wildcard released a new trailer for Ark: Lost Colony, an expansion for Ascended. The trailer animation was crafted by Japanese animation studio MAPPA (Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man).

Suffice it to say, response to Ark: Aquatica’s reveal may not have gone the way Snail Games may have hoped, and it certainly hasn’t painted the add-on in a positive light. The “non-canonical side story to Ark” is coming in June, and promises a “family-friendly” starting point for new players — at least, players who don’t turn their noses up at generative AI.