The first six episodes of "Ark: The Animated Series," based on the popular dino-survival game "Ark: Survival Evolved," have been released on Paramount+. The series is perhaps best known for its stellar cast of actors, including Michelle Yeoh, Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Jeffrey Wright, Elliot Page, Madeline Madden, and, most notably, Vin Diesel.

The official blurb for the series reads: "21st century paleontologist Helena Walker (Madeline Madden) finds herself resurrected on a mysterious primitive island inhabited by prehistoric beasts, along with new friends from across the ages while trying to uncover the true nature of their strange new world. He must learn how to survive."

Concurrent with this release, Ark: Survival Ascended is hosting what is called "Bob's 'Dear Jane' Animated Series Event." Players can unlock costumes from the show by finding "Dear Jane" notes in the game, and Bob is played by Karl Urban, that Judge Dredd. This will roll out weekly through April 11, with new notes and rewards related to the animated storyline. The first week's items are costumes for Helena and Bob, plus Dodo and Scary the Parasaur.

Ark: The Animated Series was announced along with Ark 2 (also starring Vin Diesel) in 2020, a sequel to the original game due later this year. It was unveiled to great fanfare with a four-minute trailer in which Vin Diesel chews up every view in sight, but Studio Wildcard has remained relatively tight-lipped since then (although it is slated to be a survival sandbox game).

This follows last year's remake of the first game, renamed "Ark: Survival Ascended," which was a bit of a snafu because they initially told fans that existing users could upgrade for free (actually, including pre-orders for the game and "Ark 2") (They also charged $50 for the bundle). The game was also plagued by server problems, with Jeremy Stieglitz, the game's lead designer, memorably saying, "The servers suck, they run like crap, and the stability is crap."

Ark: The Animated Series is currently only available in the US, but will be released worldwide on April 19 (which is probably when to expect the ending seven episodes). This will not be the end of the show, as a second season is already in the works.