One of the big factors in determining whether the Xbox Series X or PS5 will win the latest round of the console wars — besides which system will ever remain in stock for a few minutes — will be which one offers the most compelling exclusives. So far, Sony has scored a lot of wins when it comes to games you can play on the PS5, but the latest Xbox is fighting back with a big get of its own.
Ark II will debut as an Xbox Series X exclusive, according to an announcement at The Game Awards 2020. That means PS5 will miss out on the futuristic dino-filled adventure starring Vin Diesel — at least for the time being.
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Studio Wildcard's Ark II is the sequel to the survival sandbox game Ark: Survival Evolved. Not much is currently known about everything it will entail, except for the fact that, from what we've seen so far, it looks positively jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
In addition to starring in Ark II and lending his likeness, Diesel also served as an executive producer. There's even an animated series coming as a companion to the game, which will feature the voice talents of David Tennant, Gerard Butler, Elliot Page, Russell Crowe, and an entire swath of additional well-known actors.
It’s all because Diesel is a massive Ark fan, which might be a bit hard to believe for some — mostly stemming from the fact that this knowledge seems to have come out of nowhere. According to Eurogamer, the Fast and the Furious actor has clocked "thousands of hours" into Ark: Studio Evolved, as Studio Wildcard CEO Doug Kennedy reports. "He understands the game intimately and is providing direct feedback to the development process,” Kennedy told Eurogamer.
Ark II isn't slated to arrive until 2022, but when it does, it's going to hold the distinction of being purely Xbox only, at least for a little while. There's no information on how long that will be the case. Ark: Survival Evolved was a larger presence across the platforms it debuted on, and made a decent name for itself when it hit the scene.
With Ark II only available for one subset of the gaming population and major celebrity backing, this game could be the weapon Xbox Series X needs to win the exclusive war for the time being — or at least fight back against PS5’s early lead.
