Vin Diesel isn't just starring in Ark 2, he's also working on the game

Ark 2 Vin Diesel
(Image credit: Studio Wildcard)

We recently got our first look at Ark 2, the sequel to the popular GPU-straining dino-survival game Ark: Survival Evolved. The extensive cinematic trailer for Ark 2 shown at The Game Awards was a surprise for several reasons, but mostly because Vin Diesel was in it.

It turns out that the Fast and Furious series star isn't just lending his looks, voice, and motion-captured dino-slaying moves to Ark 2. Diesel is actually working on the game itself.

According to a press release sent to PC Gamer, Vin Diesel has joined Studio Wildcard as an executive producer on Ark 2, and is also serving as an executive producer on the Ark animated series coming in 2022. This dual role could explain his new title: Diesel is now Studio Wildcard's "President of Creative Convergence."

I gotta tip my hat: that is one heck of a title. And I also have to believe it's not just a title. Diesel is reportedly a longtime Ark player, having logged thousands of hours in the dinosaur survival game. "He understands the game intimately and is providing direct feedback to the development process," says Studio Wildcard. Heck, Diesel is already hard at work reporting bugs in Ark:

Studio Wildcard hasn't announced a release date for Ark 2 (other than that it's coming in 2022), and we don't know exactly how Diesel's character, Santiago, who is described as a "24th-century ‘Mek’-pilot, gearhead, & freedom-fighter," will fit into the online multiplayer game.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.

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