Ark fans slam AI in expansion trailer

A new Ark: Survival Evolved expansion trailer from publisher Snail Games has faced overwhelming backlash from the Ark community, with players calling out its evident use of poorly executed generative AI imagery.

The controversial trailer was unveiled following Snail Games’ GDC announcement of its internally developed expansion "Ark: Aquatica". The studio describes this non-canonical side story as featuring "an ambitious underwater setting where 95% of gameplay occurs beneath the surface."

"This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves," wrote popular Ark content creator Syntac, whose YouTube channel boasts over 1.9 million subscribers. This scathing critique currently sits as the trailer's top comment.

The community response has been uniformly negative, with viewers branding the trailer "pathetic" and "embarrassing." The footage exhibits glaring AI artifacts including:

• Fish that phase in and out of existence
• A grotesquely malformed hand gripping a spear gun
• An octopus floating unnaturally before an indistinct shipwreck/rock formation
• Human feet that bizarrely morph into flippers

Original Ark developer Studio Wildcard quickly distanced itself from the project, stating on social media: "Ark: Aquatica is not being developed by our team. Studio Wildcard remains fully focused on Ark: Survival Ascended, Ark 2, and we're excited to release Ark: Lost Colony later this year!"

After missing its original late 2024 release target, Ark 2's development status had been uncertain. However, Studio Wildcard recently confirmed the sequel remains in active production alongside Ark: Lost Colony - an expansion for Ark: Survival Ascended designed to bridge to the sequel.

The trailer features voice work from Michelle Yeoh, reprising her role from Ark: The Animated Series.