Xbox has just delivered a significant announcement, and it surely is a turning point for the entire survival game community. The new battleground for ARK: Lost Colony is now open to the future, as the game, according to Xbox, starts on the newly discovered planet of Arat Prime. Players are already hyped by the tweet accompanied by a stunning visual from Xbox, and the responses are, to be fair, quite hilarious.
Let’s take it apart piece by piece. ARK: Lost Colony is the latest addition to the vast ARK: Survival Evolved universe. The new colony on the new planet, Arat Prime, is not a map pack but a whole different experience for the players, who will have a fresh start on the unexplored planet. The announcement was straightforward with the option of jumping right in, but as always, the real story is in the comments.
There was a very quick and at the same time chaotic response which was a good thing. At least some of the players must have been right away most impressed by the incredible graphics. User ‘luckycharms’ commented, “Arat Prime looks amazing! The enormity of the different environments in the image is just mind-blowing. Lost Colony is surely calling me for some survival adventures over the weekend.” Another user, ‘Glitchy 🪄’, concentrated on one point and said, “Arat Prime is intense! That quick shot of the landscape at 0:08 makes me think about the survival there and the resources that are most needed.” Undoubtedly, the visuals are spot on, trapping the gamers in the classic ARK scavenging, building, and surviving loop.
But I’m sure the reverse is true as well, and internet conversations never remain on one topic. In the midst of Lost Colony excitement, many players jumped at the chance to discuss other matters just because of the Xbox tweet. One of the issues that was repeatedly brought up was the request for the annual Xbox Wrap-Up, a year-in-review feature. ‘Legano’ rather bluntly asked, “When is Xbox Wrap Up 2025?” which sparked the birth of a mini-thread. ‘DEADPOOL300113’ darkly responded, “if the rumors are true there won’t be one,” which leads to a whole other speculation rabbit hole we will not even touch on right now. Others, like ‘GGSN00PC4T’, simply demanded, “Where is the wrap up?” It is quite fascinating how a single announcement can turn into a magnet for all sorts of unrelated requests.
Then came the usual Xbox community requests. ‘Matthew Kendrick’ hit them with the immortal demand: “Backwards Compatibility,” along with a thinking emoji. ‘Unhinged fortnite account’ asked, “Can you do Fortnite drops for Xbox subscribers?” And ‘Mark alfonso’ had a more urgent technical problem: “Is anyone’s Xbox down? Are the servers kr, or nah?” The tweet was about ARK, but the replies are a snapshot of the daily Xbox customers.
But now, back to Arat Prime. The name alone confused some. A user ‘Mubeen’ appeared to ask what it was, leading to a friendly clarification from ‘Jubileu dodô 🦤’, who said, “It’s the name of the planet Earth in Ark.” So there you go, a little lore drop in the comments. Not everyone, however, was completely convinced. ‘Xen’ confessed, “For a moment I thought this was a Dark Ages dlc,” indicating how the fantasy survival genre is getting overcrowded. And ‘KittieLexx’ opened up brutally about her present attractions, saying, “Too busy playing the pokemon version of ark,” with a link to what we can only guess is Palworld. The competition is real, people.
The atmosphere was not just about requests and side topics, though. A lot of players wanted to jump straight in. ‘𝗟⃥𝗜⃥𝗕⃥𝗥⃥𝗘⃥’ declared, “The future of the survival!” while ‘Pixel’ inspired others, “Arat Prime, here we come! No need for links, just search ‘ARK: Lost Colony’ and dive in. #AdventureAwaits.” And then there was ‘Invigorating jolt’, who served the most relatable ARK veteran line of the day: “I have already spent 4,000 hours surviving the loading screen. I think I am ready.” If you know, you know. The struggle with ARK’s… let’s phrase it ‘deliberate’ pacing is a badge of honor.
So what’s the Lost Colony deal? It’s another gargantuan, wild world for the players to perform their conquest, probably loaded with tamable new creatures, harvestable resources, and building their bases (and then, likely, have them wiped out by a stray T-Rex). The promotional drawing for this PlayStation title shows incredible detail.
