AI-Generated Trailer for Ark: Aquatica DLC Sparks Controversy and Developer Backlash

Ark: Survival Evolved fans blast AI-slop trailer for Aquatica DLC

Michael McWhertor is a journalist with more than 17 years of experience covering video games, technology, movies, TV, and entertainment. Ark: Survival Evolved publisher Snail Games released a bizarre, poorly received trailer for a new expansion, Ark: Aquatica, on Wednesday, drawing immediate ire from the Ark-playing community. Even original Ark developer Studio Wildcard appeared to distance itself from the announcement trailer for Ark: Aquatica, clarifying on social media that it isn't involved in the project. The Ark: Aquatica backlash stems from the fact that the reveal trailer appears to have been almost completely AI-generated: both the video and the robotic voice narration that promises "a whole new world is waiting" in the underwater setting for Ark: Survival Evolved players. The Aquatica trailer is full of the kind of uncanny generative-AI output that's become the object of derision and scorn in recent years. Everything moves in an unnatural way. Limbs and extremities mutate and twist. And there's an overall artificial sheen to everything rendered within. Viewers pulled no punches in their reaction to the trailer. "This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves," popular Ark streamer Syntac wrote in a comment on the expansion's YouTube trailer. "You are so out of touch with your audience," wrote another popular Ark streamer, The AxeMan. "DO BETTER." Suffice it to say, response to Ark: Aquatica's reveal may not have gone the way Snail Games may have hoped, and it certainly hasn't painted the add-on in a positive light. The "non-canonical side story to Ark" is coming in June, and promises a "family-friendly" starting point for new players -- at least, players who don't turn their noses up at generative AI.

New Ark DLC gets AI-generated trailer so awful that the original developer's washing its hands of the whole thing, and fans are in uproar: 'This is disgusting and you should be ashamed'

It's been an odd week for Ark fans, with a new tease for Ark: Survival Ascended DLC The Lost Colony, launching in November, featuring a blink-and-you'll-miss-it mention of Ark 2. This came alongside the announcement of an expansion for Ark: Survival Evolved from developer Snail Games called Ark: Aquatica, which is... well, a lot of people think it looks like AI slop. To briefly clarify, Ark: Survival Ascended is a full-on 2023 remake of the original Ark: Survival Evolved, developed by creator Studio Wildcard. Ark: Survival Evolved is the original 2017 Ark, and is now handled by the US-based Snail Games. The trailer for Ark: Aquatica begins with a few seconds of in-game first-person footage, before the remainder moves into a series of what seem self-evidently AI-generated underwater scenes. Everything's slightly off: The colours look weird, with featureless blacked-out fish next to dazzlingly bright coral formations. The animations are just not right, with an octopus emerging from the water and then seemingly hovering above the surface. And the transitions are terrible, particularly the trailer's end where a tentacle touches an ugly-ass coral-encrusted logo. "As an IT professional," notes commenter OhNaNoh, "this shit is why I'm not worried about AI taking over my job." Others are more straightforward about it: "There's a bit of Ark in your AI," says Valkymeow. One of the biggest Ark content creators, Syntac, said simply "This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves." Over on the Ark subreddit the reaction is the same: widespread disgust mixed with disbelief that Snail Games ever thought this would fly. "I honestly feel kinda bad for Wildcard man," says MikeyBastard. "Sure their development process can be a little slow, but Snail Games has absolutely fucked 'em over time and time again. The absolute greed from Snail to use an AI for pretty much the entire video including the voiceover, just to save some money from having to pay artists is absurd. How in the world did they think this would go over well?" "Big fan of the foot that turns into a fin at 40 seconds," says Flaming Puffins. The trailer currently has just under 50,000 views, and a grand total of 203 "likes". I used one of those YouTube dislike viewer sites, and apparently there are well over 6000, which I believe we'd call a ratio. Don't take my word, or the word of fans either: Studio Wildcard itself couldn't distance itself from Ark: Aquatica fast enough. "ARK: Aquatica is being developed by Snail Games USA Colorado, please follow them for more updates," Studio Wildcard said on the game's X account. "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!" In other words, please don't blame us for this AI travesty, and aim your vitriol in the right direction. The trailer is still viewable, but has notably been de-listed following the community reaction. Ark: Aquatica is apparently "an ambitious underwater setting featuring 95% of gameplay taking place beneath the surface." The big worry raised by this trailer, though, is whether the DLC itself is going to rely so heavily on AI tools. It's a terrible look for Ark either way, which has always boasted outstanding art direction and over the years delivered some truly memorable trailers. This... this ain't it.

Ark: Aquatica DLC trailer slammed for its blatant use of AI slop

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.

Ark: Aquatica developer shifts blame for disastrous AI trailer onto marketing team

You may still be thinking about the recent trailer for Snail Games' Ark: Aquatica expansion, but not because it was so impressive it left a long lasting impression of wonder and awe. Rather, you probably still think about it because it was so unimpressive with its heavy handed use of AI slop. "This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves," reads one comment on the trailer's YouTube page. But, who was to blame for the trailer, which at the time of writing has amassed over 480k views, but only 1.7k upvotes on YouTube? "That [trailer] was done by our marketing department," lead game designer Matt Kohl told Aftermath. "They took our assets and then ran them through an AI to animate them. That was marketing." Kohl reiterated that the development team "did not do that" adding "there has been no AI use in development of Aquatica". The designer said he didn't "have any knowledge" as to why the marketing team decided to use AI for Ark: Aquatica's trailer, which was revealed at GDC. Kohl said we would all hear more closer to launch, but did highlight a brief gameplay trailer for Aquatica released by the developer, which you can see below. At the time of writing, Snail's marketing team is yet to comment on last week's trailer. Trailer with actual gameplay from Snail Game's ARK:Aquatica. byu/RathinaAtor inARK As for Ark more broadly, Ark 2, which was first announced all the way back in 2020, with a CGI trailer starring Vin Diesel, is yet to materialise. Last week, developer Studio Wildcard said it was still "dedicated to the production" of both Ark 2 and Ark: Survival Ascended. Additionally, we have had a trailer for Ark expansion Lost Colony, which featured the character played by Michelle Yeoh from the Ark animated series.

Ark devs distance themselves from AI-generated trailer: 'we did not know that they were doing it'

The reaction to the clearly AI-generated trailer for Ark's upcoming underwater DLC Aquatica was divided, in the sense that some people hated it and some people really hated it. "This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves" is the first comment underneath the trailer on YouTube, and it comes from an Ark YouTuber with more than a million subscribers. The Aquatica DLC is being made by Snail Games, as opposed to Ark's original developers at Studio Wildcard, who are focused on Ark: Survival Ascended and have been quick to distance themselves from the controversy. "ARK: Aquatica is being developed by Snail Games USA Colorado, please follow them for more updates," they posted on the hatesite formerly known as Twitter. "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!" Now the developers at Snail Games are putting some space between them and the trailer as well. As lead game designer Matt Kohl told Pocket Tactics, "The marketing department used still images of some of our assets to create an AI-animated trailer. That was not part of the development team; we did not know that they were doing it." With a voiceover that sounds like it comes direct from a brainrot video on TikTok and characters whose feet seem to become fins at random, it's not a great representation of what anyone was hoping for from Aquatica. The generic underwater scenes make it look like the Subnautica from Wish dot com, while the constant smearing and sudden octopus are hard to take seriously. Kohl also explained that Snail Games has not used AI tools in Aquatica's development, and that the finished DLC won't resemble the trailer. Which rather makes you wonder what the point of the trailer actually was.

Ark: Survival Evolved Fans Can't Believe How Bad Its Newest Trailer Looks

A surprise trailer for Ark: Survival Evolved teased its new water-based expansion Aquatica this week and fans are livid. That's because the video appears to make generous use of AI-generated footage to show a bland and incoherent mashup of underwater scenes that have nothing to do with the game. "Uncharted waters await in Ark: Aquatica!" wrote Snail Games USA in the trailer's description on YouTube. "Premiering at GDC, this latest expansion takes survival to the deep blue with new creatures, mechanics, and dangers lurking below." The 70-second-long video begins with brief use of actual Ark gameplay before switching to smoothed-over and cheap-looking CGI footage stitching together random context-less scenes including an octopus springing from the water with only six arms. The video has over 7,000 dislikes and more than 1,800 comments. "This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves," reads the most upvoted response, from Ark content creator Syntac. "What even is the point of an AI trailer????" reads another. "You're showing NOTHING. This is worse than having PowerPoint presentation about the DLC." The backlash was so swift and negative that the makers of the original game, Studio Wildcard, went on social media to distance themselves from the debacle. "Ark: Aquatica is being developed by @SnailGamesUSA Colorado, please follow them for more updates," the team wrote on X yesterday. "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!" For anyone who's been out of Ark's survival crafting, dino-hunting orbit for a few years now, the sequel was revealed back at the 2020 Game Awards with a look at Vin Diesel and has barely been heard from since. Ark: Survival Ascended, meanwhile, is a current-gen remake of the original game in Unreal Engine 5. It's still in Early Access on PC and continues to be plagued by complaints about bugs and optimization issues. This all leaves the series as a whole in a very awkward spot at the moment, and fans continue to blame the involvement of Chinese parent company Snail Games for every new rake the franchise steps on. "How can every decision y'all make be so horrible..." wrote Ark YouTuber Crowmeda. "So many amazing artists and devs work on this IP to make the game look great, and y'all disregard each and every one of them."

Just days after hinting at Ark 2, a new AI-generated trailer for Ark: Survival Evolved's upcoming aquatic DLC drops - and fans aren't impressed

As the wait for Ark 2 continues, fans are still playing Studio Wildcard and Sail Games' first survival game, Ark: Survival Evolved - but it's safe to say its latest DLC reveal isn't going too well. Unveiling the new Aquatica map DLC with what appears to be an AI-generated trailer during this year's Game Developers Conference, Snail Games has left a sour taste in players' mouths. While the short video seems to highlight some of Aquatica's underwater features, including its behemoth oceanic beasts, most fans - myself included - can't get past how jarring the use of AI is, especially when generative AI is, to say the least, so controversial. Not only is the animated portion of the trailer seemingly AI-generated, though, but viewers are also commenting that the actual voice acting likely is, too. As far as I can see, there's no actor credited or specified in or under the video, and the voice certainly sounds like it might fit within the realm of AI. "AI video, AI voice, AI subtitles, AI narration script," reads one fan's response. "Did anyone put even a second of work into this?" It's difficult to overlook the probability of generative AI and actually draw any of the DLC's features from the trailer, according to other players. "When the official trailer has no real, animated, or in-game footage," writes one such fan. "There's a bit of Ark in your AI," jokes another commenter. As a longtime fan, I'm honestly just hoping that this doesn't mark the turn of a new page in Ark's book - especially with a sequel underway. After all, Ark 2 was finally mentioned recently in an animated (not AI-generated) trailer for another Survival Evolved expansion after months of no word on the second entry from Studio Wildcard. The last significant mention of the mysterious sequel was this past August, when Xbox announced a playable demo of the game only to immediately pull it. So here's to hoping that when we do get a new Ark 2 trailer, it's AI-free. Looking for something new? Here are some of the best survival games out there available to play right now.

Ark: Survival Evolved unveils next expansion at GDC... with a fully AI-created trailer

We have to accept, regardless of how we feel about it, that artificial intelligence has already entered the creative process in film, music and, of course, video games. Steam recently implemented a new policy for publishing games on its platform in which any game that has made use of artificial intelligence in any way at any stage of its production must put a warning on the game's purchase page. And this doesn't just affect indies with tight budgets: we're talking about giants like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, which have had to add the text. It doesn't matter if the usage is barely noticeable, it must appear. And that's why we imagine that, looking at the trailer below, Wildcard will have to add the subtitle to Ark: Survival Evolved. At least, if the video reflects the final work. The studio showed off Ark: Survival Evolved's upcoming expansion, called Aquatica, with a trailer at GDC. It will explore underwater environments, with new creatures and materials to explore, hunt and research. So far so good, but it's not hard to see that the entire trailer, from the narration to the sound to the visuals, was created using generative AI. This has provoked a unanimous rejection from users on social networks, forums and even on the Steam game page's own Steam Meeting Point. Players simply can't believe the decision to present the game's upcoming content in this way, and there is no shortage of suspicions that much of this supposed (paid) content will have been created by AI, and will be paid for. What do you think of Ark: Survival Evolved's new content, and how do you think this sets a precedent for future game development?

Terrible AI-generated Ark: Aquatica trailer leaves gamers bewildered

It's surprising to see the same game franchise get one trailer so right and another trailer so wrong within a day of each other. Just yesterday we were reporting from GDC 2025 on fans' excitement about Studio Wildcard's anime teaser for Ark: Lost Colony, the upcoming DLC for the Unreal Engine 5 remake Ark: Survival Ascended. But Ark announcements at the Game Developers Conference have ended on a low note with an unexpected. Snail Games USA has dropped a trailer for Ark: Aquatica, an expansion not of Ark: Survival Ascended but of the original Ark: Survival Evolved. And it appears to be almost entirely AI-generated. Wildcard's official Ark: Survival Ascended X account appeared to be so keen to distance itself from the Ark: Aquatica DLC that it announced that it had nothing to do with the project before it had even been announced. Ark: Aquatica is being developed by Snail Games. Studio Wildcard remains entirely dedicated to the production of ARK: Survival Ascended & Ark 2, it posted. "WTF is ARK: Aquatica?" confused fans wanted to know. We soon found out when Snail Games dropped the messy 'trailer; above. And it didn't take long for the criticism to begin. The debacle recalls Catly, the alleged AI slop that somehow managed to sneak its way into the Game Awards 2024. Many are wondering what's even the point of an AI-generated trailer that doesn't say anything about the game? Even the logo looks like its AI. The only thing the trailer communicates is that the DLC exists, and that it's set underwater. To be fair, I guess it's got people talking perhaps more than a proper trailer would, but not in a good way. The video hardly exciting fans for the release, and it seems even Snail Games may be regretting its approach - it appears to have removed the trailer from the video list on its YouTube profile. At the time of writing, the video remains accessible via the direct link, and there are already more than a thousand comments lambasting the trailer. "There's a bit of Ark in your AI," one person jested - although some aren't seeing any Ark at all. "With THIS as the trailer, I'm almost excited to see how bad the actual product could possibly be," someone else added. "Well, that explains Wildcard's tweet about not being involved. Wouldn't want to touch this with a 10-foot pole either," another person wrote. Someone else suggested the game should be titled 'Ark: No-Effort-Involved'. Confused as to what's actually being released? I don't blame you. To recap, Ark: Lost Colony is an interesting-looking DLC for Ark: Survival Ascended. It will be available for pre-order in June 2025 and can be wishlisted on Steam now. Ark: Aquatica is a terrible-looking DLC for Ark: Survival Evolved and will be released in June.

Ark: Survival Evolved Fans Lash Expansion Trailer Filled With AI-Generated Slop

A new Ark: Survival Evolved expansion trailer from publisher Snail Games has been resoundingly condemned by the Ark community for being filled with evidence of appalling generative AI imagery. The trailer was released in the wake of Snail Games' GDC announcement of its "in-house developed new expansion map, Ark: Aquatica". The studio describes the expansion as a non-canonical side story to Ark in "an ambitious underwater setting featuring 95% of gameplay taking place beneath the surface." "This is disgusting and you should be ashamed of yourselves," wrote Irish YouTuber Syntac in response to the trailer. This statement from the popular Ark-oriented video creator, who has over 1.9 million subscribers, is currently the top comment on the Ark: Aquatica trailer. Comments from other viewers are unanimously and similarly negative, decrying the trailer as "pathetic" and "embarrassing." The trailer is rife with traces of AI slop, including schooling fish blurring in and out of existence, a hideously deformed hand clutching a spear gun, a levitating octopus floating in front of a shipwreck that doesn't know whether it's a rock or not, human feet that morph into floppy flippers, and more. For its part, original Ark: Survival Evolved developer Studio Wildcard has immediately distanced itself from the discussion, clarifying on social media that Ark: Aquatica is not being being developed by its team, and that "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!" Since missing its previously planned late 2024 release window the future of Ark 2 has been unclear amongst fans, but Studio Wildcard confirmed this week that development on the dinosaur survival sequel is continuing. It also revealed Ark: Lost Colony, a new expansion for Ark: Survival Ascended that will lead into the sequel. Ark: The Animated Series star Michelle Yeoh reprises her role in the trailer.