Futuristic open world survival game Ark: Survival Evolved has released their Expanded Story Content Update.

The unimaginatively named update introduces fresh narration by Australian Actress Madeleine Madden (Wheel of Time) and David Tennant (Doctor Who).

As content additions go it's not very remarkable in its own right but becomes so in relation to the long awaited all star (including the aforementioned) animated series and also sequel game Ark 2 which is slated to release next year.

Surely this update heralds movement on one or possibly both of those fronts?

Seemingly yes.

Upon checking we found that last week Studio Wildcard - both game developer and animated series production company - said of the series: "will be announced with a partner and out shortly".

Going to claim that they were "embarking on something which has NEVER been done in the 50 years of video games".

Bold claim. They have our attention.

Simultaneous launch of a multiplayer game and TV series using the same actors has been done before in 2013's Defiance.

Though Defiance, like most TV shows was developed by TV studios / networks (SyFy and NBC) and we always knew where it would be available.

The animated Ark series being "out shortly" and not publicly attached to any major network or streaming service is atypical.

Maybe there's something in that.

Ark: Survival Evolved is out now on PC (Steam and Epic), Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

[ Main Image: Ark Survival Evolved update trailer. Credit: Studio Wildcard via YouTube. ]

References

Ark: Survival Evolved (December 17, 2022). ARK: Expanded Story Content Update. YouTube.

Ark: Survival Evolved (December 17, 2022). Community Crunch 342: The Survival of the Fittest and More! Steam.

Ark 2 News [@ARK2News] (December 13, 2022).& Studio Wildcard CEO Doug Kennedy says that ARK: The Animated Series will be announced with a partner and released shortly. Twitter.

Wikipedia. Ark: The Animated Series. (viewed December 20, 2022)