We don’t know exactly when Ark II will release but new documents obtained during the ongoing Microsoft and Activision investigation have revealed exactly how long the game will remain on Xbox Game Pass when it does eventually come out. YouTuber GP recently came upon legal documents that reveal Snail Games and Studio Wildcard’s relationship with Microsoft regarding Ark 2.
According to the documents, Ark 2 will remain on Xbox Game Pass for a period of three years after it launches on the platform. The same document details the previous game, Ark: Survival Evolved and its contract period which ended on 1 January 2022. The document reads:
“The Company also has a long-term title license agreement (“Game Pass”) with Microsoft for a period of three years,” the filing reads. “The agreement was initially made between the parties in November 2018 and valid through December 31st, 2021. The agreement was subsequently amended in June 2020 to extend the Ark 1 Game Pass perpetually effective January 1st, 2022, and to put Ark 2 on Game Pass for three years upon release.”
The document claims that Microsoft paid Studio Wildcard $2.5 million to keep Ark: Survival Evolved on Xbox Game Pass for the duration between June 2020 and January 2022. In addition, Ark 2 cost Microsoft $2.3 million in order to get the sequel onto the service. Keep in mind that there’s no sign of the game’s release date or gameplay yet so this costing is likely to secure its release at this point.
The document also revealed that Sony forked out $3.5 million to get Ark: Survival Evolved onto PlayStation Plus back in March 2022. The increased price tag compared to Xbox Game Pass is likely due to the fact that members keep the game forever instead of being able to “rent” it as long as it remained on the service.
It is quite interesting to see how much money is involved in securing a game such as Ark: Survival Evolved and its sequel, Ark 2. At the moment, we don’t know what the plan is for Ark 2 and whether or not the game will even launch on PS5 whenever it finally gets released. However, we do know that it will come to Xbox Game Pass thanks to Microsoft’s $2.3 million cheque.
Source: Legal Document
