The first sequel to Jurassic Park (1993) didn’t begin where many viewers expected it to. Rather than picking up moments after the collapse of John Hammond’s experiment on Isla Nublar in 1993, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) leapt forward by four years and shifted the action to Site B, another island described as the “factory floor” for the main park.
Isla Nublar— its ruins, its survivors, and its unanswered questions — was left untouched on screen. For decades, the closest fans came to seeing what happened next were scattered details in tie-in books, video games, and promotional sites.
The island wasn’t reintroduced into the film series until Jurassic World (2015), by which point a new park had been built on top of the old one, leaving us none the wiser as to what happened during those “lost years”.
Credit: Universal Pictures
Now, more than thirty years later, the franchise is finally circling back to Isla Nublar’s immediate fallout — not in a film, but in a first-person action-adventure video game.
“Jurassic Park: Survival”, announced by Saber Interactive at The Game Awards 2023, puts players in the role of Dr. Maya Joshi (Payal Mistry), an InGen scientist who becomes stranded on Nublar the day after the events of Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic.
It’s the premise many fans have wanted since the ‘90s: the park in ruins, the systems offline, and the dinosaurs no longer contained. There’s no release date, but there is an official trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette, both of which promise a huge level of commitment in re-creating literally everything from the original film, making the upcoming game a true sequel.
Credit: Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment / Saber Interactive
Related: Universal Adds New Characters and Dinosaurs to Original ‘Jurassic Park’ Film
What also makes it feel like a true sequel (and a prequel) isn’t just the timing of the story — it’s the narrative territory no installment has explored. “Survival” promises a grounded story set during the timeline’s most mysterious and unexplored era, where InGen personnel (Maya included) were still on the island and the fallout from the park’s failure was only beginning.
The framing also taps into the same appeal that helped 2014’s survival-horror video game “Alien: Isolation” revive interest in Ridley Scott’s original 1979 film: a direct continuation of the first movie’s mood, aesthetics, and stakes, without the tonal shifts of later sequels.
And while Universal Pictures is reportedly currently moving forward with a new live-action film, “Jurassic Park: Survival” remains the only modern project returning to the exact period fans thought they’d see in the ‘90s. For a series with decades of expanded-universe lore, this is the one unexplored chapter in Jurassic that audiences have always wanted told properly.
Credit: Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment / Saber Interactive
When Is “Jurassic Park: Survival” Out?
There’s no release date for the game, but it’s rumored to be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime next year or in 2027.
“Return to Isla Nublar the day after the events of the beloved 1993 Jurassic Park film in an original adventure 65 million years in the making,” the official synopsis for the game reads.
“Survive thrilling first-person action as InGen scientist Dr. Maya Joshi, who was unable to evacuate Isla Nublar, in this single-player action-adventure game and discover a never-before-told story. Through thrilling encounters, experience the wonder and danger of dinosaurs, each with their own distinct and adaptive behaviors brought to life by John Hammond’s vision.”
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