Vin Diesel will have a much greater role in the creation of the upcoming ARK II than original announcements made clear. Not only will he play a pivotal character in the game's story — Santiago, the tattooed man from the announcement trailer — but he'll also be an executive producer on the game, and has been given the official title of President of Creative Convergence.
He'll also be starring as Santiago in the upcoming ARK animated series.
Diesel has had a greater role in gaming than many may realize. Alongside his successful movie career, he's also helmed and funded Tigon studios, which created the surprisingly good, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, as well as Wheelman, and Fast and Furious Crossroads. He's also a big gamer himself, with many decades of experience playing tabletop roleplaying games, and Studio Wildcard claims Diesel has spent thousands of hours playing the original ARK: Survival Evolved, so he's well equipped to help develop the sequel.
"He understands the game intimately and is providing direct feedback to the development process," Studio Wildcard head, Doug Kennedy said in a statement.
Not much is known about ARK II just yet, but Wildcard describes it as a survival experience that pits humanity against an ever present threat of beasts, monsters, and alien fauna, as they explore and evolve on an unearthly planet.
The announcement trailer for the game is gorgeous to look at, even if the animations are a little janky. That'd be par for the course with an ARK game, though here's hoping the optimization is a little better next time around.
Expect ARK II to launch sometime in 2022.