If you’re a long-time Ark fan, you’ve probably spent dozens, if not hundreds, of hours exploring the weird, high-tech biomes of Genesis Part 2, the final expansion for the original Ark: Survival Evolved that brought space whales, robot dinosaurs, and one of the most satisfying endgame story arcs in the franchise. It’s no surprise one of the most common questions players ask right now is is genesis 2 on ark ascended, especially as Studio Wildcard rolls out more remastered content for the 2023 survival game remake. I’ve spent the last year testing every Ark Ascended update, playing public test servers, and digging through official patch notes to pull together everything you need to know about the expansion’s status, planned changes, and what you can do to prepare for its launch.
Is Genesis 2 on Ark Ascended? Current Official Status
Right now, the short answer is no, the official version of Genesis 2 is not available for Ark Ascended as of the latest 2024 patch. When asked about the expansion in a recent community stream, Wildcard’s lead designer confirmed it’s part of the planned expansion pass for Ark Ascended, and is actively in development. Official Genesis 2 for Ark Ascended is expected to launch sometime in the second half of 2024, per recent Wildcard community updates.
The team is prioritizing rebuilding all assets from scratch for Unreal Engine 5, rather than doing a quick port of the original 2021 expansion content. That means you won’t run into the janky animations, broken mission triggers, and performance issues that plagued some of the original Ark expansions at launch. There are fan-made mod ports of Genesis 2 available for Ark Ascended right now, but these are not supported by Wildcard, and most are missing key content or have game-breaking bugs. I tested one of the most popular fan ports last month, and while it’s fun to mess around in, the Rockwell Prime boss fight crashed 70% of the time I tried to load it, so you’re better off waiting for the official release if you want the full experience.
Key Confirmed Changes Coming to the Ark Ascended Genesis 2 Remake
Wildcard has shared a handful of details about what players can expect from the remastered Genesis 2, and most changes are direct responses to fan feedback from the original release. All original Genesis 2 content will carry over, including every tame, mission, biome, and story beat from the 2021 expansion. Beyond that, here are the biggest confirmed upgrades:
The team is also adjusting the brutal early-game difficulty that turned a lot of new players away from the original Genesis 2. Back in the 2021 version, you’d spawn in and immediately get targeted by level 150 Tek Raptors or corrupted creatures before you even had a stone pickaxe. The remaster will add a new protected starter zone with lower level creatures for the first 10 hours of gameplay, so new players don’t get discouraged right away. Cross-play PVP servers for Genesis 2 will have separate queues for official and modded play, so you don’t have to worry about running into cheaters using modded items on official servers.
How to Prepare for Genesis 2 Launch on Ark Ascended
There’s plenty you can do right now to make your Genesis 2 playthrough as smooth as possible once it drops, even if you’re still working through earlier expansions. First, if you’re playing through the Ark Ascended story right now, make sure you’ve beaten the Aberration and Genesis Part 1 boss fights first. You can access Genesis 2 without beating them, but you’ll miss out on exclusive story cutscenes and endgame Tek rewards that make the start of Genesis 2 way easier.
Next, if you’re playing on an official PVE server, start stockpiling rare resources now, like Element, Black Pearls, and Polymer. Genesis 2 relies heavily on Tek gear, and you’ll need hundreds of stacks of Element to power your bases, craft Voidwyrm saddles, and run the high-tier missions. You can also reserve a character slot on your favorite server ahead of launch to avoid the rush of players trying to join when the expansion drops.
I usually clear out a small storage container on my main base dedicated to Genesis 2 prep, with extra armor, weapons, and a few high-stat breedable tames I can transfer over as soon as the map goes live. It saves me hours of grinding right when launch happens, when everyone else is fighting over the same spawn nodes. If you want to play with friends, make sure you’ve all aligned on whether you’re playing PVE or PVP, and what your tribe’s goals are for the first week—whether that’s taming an Astrodelphis, beating the first round of missions, or building a base in the Eden biome.
Should You Play Fan-Made Genesis 2 Mods Before Official Launch?
If you’re really impatient to get back to Genesis 2 content, fan-made mod ports are an option, but they come with some pretty big caveats. The biggest upside is that you can explore the map, mess around with tames, and test base locations right now, instead of waiting for the official release. Most of the basic biomes and core tame mechanics work fine in the top mod ports, so they’re a good way to brush up on taming techniques for rare creatures like the Noglin before official launch.
That said, the downsides are hard to ignore for most players. Most fan ports don’t have working story missions or boss fights, so you won’t get the full narrative experience that made Genesis 2 so beloved. They also don’t support official save transfers, so any progress you make on a modded Genesis 2 server won’t carry over to the official release. Fan ports also often have unpatched exploits that let cheaters duplicate items or grief bases, which can ruin your playthrough if you’re not on a private server with trusted friends.
If you do decide to play a fan mod, stick to private servers with active admins, and don’t pour dozens of hours into a character you don’t want to lose. For most players, though, it’s better to wait a few more months for the official release, which will have full support, regular patches, and all the content you loved from the original, plus all the UE5 upgrades.
At the end of the day, it’s only a matter of time until we get the official, polished version of the expansion we’ve all been waiting for. We know how exciting it is to jump back into the Eden biome, tame your first Voidwyrm, and take on Rockwell Prime for the final chapter of the Ark story, so it’s totally normal to be eager to find out is genesis 2 on ark ascended any time soon. In the meantime, you can work your way through the already released expansions, stock up on resources, and plan out your first playthrough with your tribe to make launch day as smooth as possible. If you can’t wait that long, a casual playthrough of a fan mod on a private server with friends is a fun way to pass the time, just don’t expect the same level of polish you’ll get from the official release.