ARK fans went into IGN Live 2026 hoping for the kind of reveal that would finally make the franchise’s future feel less scattered. What they got was not a huge ARK 2 blowout, but it may still be one of Studio Wildcard’s more important updates in years.
The headline was ARK Maker, a new creation tool built to let players make custom maps and functional content inside ARK: Survival Ascended without needing a PC setup or Unreal Engine experience. For a series that has always lived and died by community creativity, that is a much bigger deal than a normal DLC tease.
Modding has always been part of ARK’s identity, but it has also asked a lot from players. Building maps and meaningful custom content usually meant learning tools, owning capable hardware, and having the patience to work through a process that could scare off plenty of people with good ideas.
Studio Wildcard is pitching it as an in-game tool that lets players on any platform build, edit, and share custom maps through the game itself.
That is because it could turn creation into something far more casual and social. Instead of only downloading what experienced modders make, console players and newer creators may finally have a way to shape their own version of ARK from inside the survival sandbox.
Studio Wildcard also used the show to talk about Genesis Ascended Part One, the remake of the original Genesis Part 1 expansion for ARK: Survival Ascended. The big technical hook is fully physical ocean water, which fits with the franchise’s current push toward deeper sea-based gameplay.
Genesis Ascended Part One is launching alongside Tides of Fortune, the pirate-themed paid expansion that adds sailing ships, naval combat, treasure hunting, and new sea threats.
Together, those updates make the water feel like the next major frontier for ARK: Survival Ascended. The series has always been strong on dinosaurs, building, and chaos on land. Now Wildcard is trying to make the ocean feel just as alive, dangerous, and worth exploring.
The showcase also included a new look at ARK: The Animated Series Part 2, which is headed back to Paramount. That part of the presentation is because Wildcard is still trying to make ARK feel like more than a survival game with expansions attached.
The animated series gives the franchise a different kind of entry point. Not every viewer is going to care about taming, crafting, or server drama, but a story-driven show can make the world easier to understand from the outside.
That is useful for a franchise that can feel overwhelming to newcomers. ARK has creatures, lore, maps, timelines, characters, and years of player history. The show gives Wildcard another way to keep that universe visible while the games continue to evolve.
IGN Live gave ARK fans several things to watch, but ARK Maker is the piece with the most long-term potential. If it works well, it could bring more creators into the game and keep ARK: Survival Ascended active long after each official expansion drops.
The challenge is that Wildcard has to make it approachable without making it shallow. Players will want tools that are easy to understand, but powerful enough to create maps and experiences worth sharing.
With Genesis Ascended Part One and Tides of Fortune preparing to launch later this month, ARK: Survival Ascended is about to get another major content push. ARK Maker is the bigger promise beyond that: a future where more of the franchise’s best ideas might come from players themselves.
