A recent trailer for Snail Games’ Aquatica expansion for Ark: Survival Evolved has been ripped to shreds by fans, who have accused it of being AI-generated.
‘Oh come on Victoria, surely these people are just overreacting. It can’t be that bad,’ I hear you say? Oh, believe me, it can.
The trailer, which you can see below, features things like one person using three hands to hold onto a spear gun, fish phasing in and out of existence, an octopus with only six tentacles, a human with flippers where there should be feet. You get the idea.
The top comment on the upcoming DLC’s trailer comes from a popular Ark-oriented content creator known as Syntac, and they don’t pull their punches. “This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves,” Syntac wrote.
“Did anyone put even a second of work into this?” another comment asks under the reveal trailer.
“Wait… You have access [to] some of the most talented visual creators (pick any Wildcard release trailer). You Use A… Fucking …I. Is this the standard you see fit to release to a community 10 years strong and think this shit is okay?” adds another.
And, it is not just the game’s community that seems more than unimpressed by the recent DLC trailer. Even Ark’s original developer Studio Wildcard has moved to distance itself from the AI-efforts on show from Snail (or, as I am now going to dub them Sn-AI-l).
Writing on social media soon after Ark: Aquatica’s GDC trailer went live, Wildcard affirmed “Ark: Aquatica is being developed by @SnailGamesUSA Colorado”, and therefore players should follow them for updates and such on the DLC.
“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!” Wildcard closed.
Yeah, sounds like they are washing their hands of any Aquatica responsibilities there.
As for Ark 2, that was first announced all the way back in 2020, with a CGI trailer starring Vin Diesel, however the game is yet to materialise. More recently, we have had a trailer for Ark expansion Lost Colony, with an animated trailer that featured the character played by Michelle Yeoh from the Ark animated series.