Studio Wildcard

Studio Wildcard is an independent-AAA game developer and publisher focused on large-scale sandbox survival experiences and open-world multiplayer action-adventure games. Operating as Wildcard Properties, LLC, the studio builds and supports the ARK franchise through game development, publishing, intellectual-property management, and long-term live-service operations.

Founded in 2014 by industry veterans including Jeremy Stieglitz, Jesse Rapczak, Doug Kennedy, and Susan Browning Stieglitz, the studio set out to pursue AAA-scale production for core gaming audiences within an independent development model. Its first major release, ARK: Survival Evolved, debuted in Steam Early Access in 2015 before its full PC and console launch in 2017.

Development focus

The studio's work spans the technical and creative systems required for persistent multiplayer survival games:

• Open-world sandbox survival design and multiplayer action-adventure systems
• Unreal Engine 4 and Unreal Engine 5 architecture
• Creature rigging, Animation Blueprints, and Control Rig procedural animation
• Large-scale networking and dedicated-server infrastructure
• Cross-platform modding and user-generated-content integration through mod.io
• Continuous patching, DLC production, community management, and developer relations

Studio Wildcard has continued to expand the ARK universe with major ARK: Survival Evolved expansions including Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and the two-part Genesis storyline. In 2023 it released ARK: Survival Ascended, a next-generation remaster rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5 with Nanite, Lumen, and cross-platform modding support.

The studio is also developing ARK 2, an Unreal Engine 5 sequel, alongside work connected with ARK: The Animated Series. Its development model combines its internal team with co-development partners and a distributed network of engineers, artists, and live-operations specialists, enabling ongoing support for games across PC, console, and mobile platforms.