10 Upcoming Video Games That Are Already Controversial

When a game announcement is so head-smackingly insulting that people legitimately mistake it for an April Fools' prank, you know you're in trouble.

A sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved was first announced in late 2020, though last month it was confirmed that Ark 2 was delayed to late 2024.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that of course, except that developer Studio Wildcard also announced that they would be releasing a remaster of the original Ark, entitled Ark: Survival Ascended, to tide fans over until Ark 2's release.

Again, there's nothing outwardly bad about that - or there wasn't, until Studio Wildcard confirmed the remaster and all its DLC would cost a stonking $90 as part of an exclusive bundle with Ark 2. Considering players are used to next-gen upgrades being free or charged for a small fee, it seemed excessive.

And worse still, the company announced that the original Ark's servers would be turned off in August, ensuring owners of the original release could only keep playing if they ponied up for the remaster.

Studio Wildcard caught a ton of flak for this from understandably pissed-off players, only for them to walk back their original plan and sell the remaster on its own for "only" $60, which wasn't a whole lot better.

But most importantly, Wildcard's plan to shut down the original Ark servers in a matter of months hasn't changed at all. And announcing it on April 1st of all dates just felt like rubbing salt in the wound.