Fans accused the ARK: Survival Evolved Aquatica expansion trailer of being AI-generated after the release of the teaser. The trailer’s unnatural graphics, robotic narration, and some glaring errors, like distorted animations for creatures, received swear backlash against Snail Games. The footage, shown at GDC 2025, was removed within a day due to fan outrage, with prominent ARK content creators calling it "lazy" and "unacceptable."

Within a few days, players pinpointed the AI’s surface flaws: unnaturally changed lighting, weird textures of buildings and cars, and a narrator with an artificial voice. Critics are spreading online video clips of a swimmer’s legs glitching into flippers and an octopus appearing unnaturally, which adds fuel to the fire. Given that Survival Evolved’s servers were shut down in 2023, many of them asked why Snail was releasing DLC for this game instead of concentrating on ARK: Survival Ascended or ARK 2.

Snail Games initially sat tight, whereas the developer Matt Kohl later clarified that the advertisement team made the AI trailer without the authorisation of the developers and that the DLC was not made with AI. However, the damage was done as Studio Wildcard distanced itself from the project, highlighting that the teams are busy with Ascended, ARK 2, and other projects. It represents mounting player frustration with AI software making games, something they regard as a shortcut at the expense of quality.

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