Survival video games have a unique appeal to them; starting from nothing, the player gets to see themselves go from the most basic of tools and shelter to something much more extravagant and hospitable. It’s a visual representation of the player’s “growth” as they slowly conquer a dangerous and otherwise unlivable area. Some survival games add to this by introducing a story that unwinds as the player progresses, letting them explore the mysteries of wherever they are at their own leisurely pace. ARK: Survival Evolved, however, aims to explain its world’s lore more thoroughly through an upcoming adult animated series.

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ARK: The Animated Series was originally announced at the 2020 Game Awards, and while a steady drip-feed of information has come out since then, only recently did the show’s official first season trailer hit the internet, bringing with it a dazzling series of reveals and celebrity involvement. While the show doesn’t have an official distributor yet, it’d be shocking to see current streaming services pass on the series.

This is everything we know about ARK: The Animated Series.

ARK: The Plot

An official plot synopsis for ARK: The Animated Series has been provided by the creators of the series, Studio Wildcard.

“In a sweeping story that spans eons of human & world history, 21st century paleontologist Helena Walker finds herself resurrected on a mysterious primeval land after tragedy. There she must learn to survive and find new allies, or die again at the hands of ruthless warlords – all while trying to uncover the true nature of their strange new world.”

The synopsis, combined with the provided trailer, shows off an intriguing setup. Helena Walker, a character who’s shown to have committed suicide after she’s faced with “tragedy,” reawakens on a mysterious, prehistoric island littered with dinosaurs and inhabitants with similar backgrounds. Already, the idea of the island possibly serving as a means of redemption or healing one’s self comes to mind, finding themselves reborn as they attempt to survive a strange, new setting.

The stakes are immediately raised shortly after, however, as we’re given a showcase of the various conflicts that the series will showcase: people riding dinosaurs like war horses, approaching a burning village that lies in the distance, giant tigers, spiders, and various reptilian monstrosities roaming the isolated greenery, and human soldiers clad in metallic armor, plucked feathers, and tribal body paint, clashing together with a mix of man-made weaponry and tamed beasts. After the critically acclaimed Primal rose to prominence in 2019, another series set in a man-meets-dinosaur world is a refreshing break from typical fantasy settings.

While ARK: Survival Evolved doesn’t have a typical single-player campaign or traditional story structure, several characters from the game’s “Explorer Notes,” scattered pieces of the world’s backstory and lore, are confirmed to make an appearance in the series, finally putting a face and voice to characters like General Gaius Marcellus Nerva, Sir Edmund Rockwell, and Meiyin Li.

ARK: The Cast & Crew

     Lex + Otis/Studio Wildcard

The cast of voice actors for ARK: The Animated Series is downright staggering. On top of contemporary legends like Dee Bradley Baker and Cissy Jones, the number of high-profile celebrities lending their voices to the show is incredible.

Just to name a few cast members, we have Madeleine Madden, Malcolm McDowell, Elliot Page, David Tennant, Karl Urban, Alan Tudyk, Monica Bellucci, Deborah Mailman, Juliet Mills, Jeffrey Wright, and Michelle Yeoh. Rounding out the cast is Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe, and Vin Diesel, who will also be executive producing the series.

Jay Oliva will be directing the series, having a prolific background in animation with credits in over 100 separate projects. These include various Marvel and DC animated films, Hanna-Barbera projects, and adaptations for properties like RoboCop and Ghostbusters. Having served in both the director’s chair and in the storyboard room, Oliva looks to be an appropriate fit for an animated project like ARK: The Animated Series.

The studio animating ARK: The Animated Series, Lex + Otis, was also founded by Oliva. The has also previously collaborated with Sideshow Collectibles and Corvus Belli.

Award-winning composer Gareth Coker, who provided the score for the original ARK: Survival Evolved game, will also return to compose the music for ARK: The Animated Series.

Release Date

As of writing ARK: The Animated Series technically does not have a distributor yet, meaning that a release date is subject to change. However, hopes are high that the series will release sometime in 2023.

ARK: Everything Else

The first season of ARK: The Animated Series will consist of fourteen half-hour episodes with another season already in pre-production. It joins Assassin’s Creed, Gears of War, The Last of Us, and God of War as yet another highly anticipated video game adaptation hitting the streaming world relatively soon.