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Credit: Universal PicturesAn upcoming Jurassic Park sequel is set to enhance the original 1993 film.
More than three decades after Jurassic Park first introduced us to Isla Nublar’s wonder and terror, that world is about to return in a new format. The upcoming first-person action-adventure video game “Jurassic Park: Survival”, developed by Saber Interactive, takes place just 24 hours after the events of the 1993 film — effectively acting as a direct sequel.
What makes “Jurassic Park: Survival” particularly exciting is that it doesn’t merely recycle familiar areas and dinosaurs — it expands the story with new characters, new threats, and previously unseen corners of the island.
We already know quite a lot about “Survival”, thanks to a trailer, an exclusive between Universal and Saber Interactive and IGN last year, and, most recently, a behind-the-scenes featurette that sheds light on every aspect of the game.
Meet Dr. Maya Joshi, a Character Who Was Always There
At the center of “Jurassic Park: Survival” is Dr. Maya Joshi, who’s portrayed by actor Payal Mistry. Originally hired by Dr. Henry Wu (played in the films by BD Wong), Maya is an InGen scientist who, for whatever reason, has failed to evacuate the island with her co-workers — leaving her stranded on Nublar among rampaging dinosaurs and ruined facilities.
Unsurprisingly, many fans have already been scouring the 1993 film for signs of Joshi operating somewhere in the background, and there’s one lab scene with a female character who closely resembles her. But the fact is that she hadn’t been developed at that time.
Whether or not Universal and Saber have built Joshi around that female InGen scientist is unknown, but it’s fair to say that, in terms of canon, Joshi at least now exists off screen in the same way The Clone Wars‘ Ahsoka Tano does during the Star Wars prequel trilogy films.
Jurassic Park Has More Dinosaurs Than We Thought
The game will challenge players to survive using stealth, ingenuity, and all the resources available. You’ll need to outlast some of the deadliest prehistoric predators to have ever walked the earth, from the classic T.Rex and Velociraptors to “surprise dinosaurs” never before seen. And they’re all active threats, brought to life with adaptive, AI-driven behaviors.
But the game isn’t necessarily “adding” more dinosaurs to the 1993 film — we already knew that Nublar had a lot more than is shown on screen. The only dinosaurs we see in the film are Brachiosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Triceratops, Dilophosaurus, Velociraptor, Gallimimus, and Tyrannosaurus Rex.
But the film’s map of the island confirms that there are more, as do the embryos in the cold storage room Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) steals from. All “Survival” is doing is finally pulling back the curtain on those never-before-seen species.
Related: Universal Officially Ends ‘Jurassic Park’ Series Despite Successful Run
Isla Nublar Will Grow in Unexpected Ways
Saber Interactive isn’t just slapping dinosaurs on a map and calling it a day, though. In the BTS video, the development team at Saber and executives from Universal emphasize their dedication to film-accurate re-creation: production stills, original blueprints, set props, and archival references are all being used to faithfully rebuild Isla Nublar from the ground up.
That means players will revisit familiar locations — the Visitor Center, the iconic park gates, the “raptor kitchen” and the rotating theater — but also explore new areas the films never showed. Concept art, featurettes, and trailers tease a mid-construction guest hotel, dinosaur enclosures, and other hidden corners of the island, from bunkers to underground tunnels.
It seems the creative team is mostly using the 1993 film as the point of reference, but it’s likely they’re also taking a few pages out of Michael Crichton’s original 1990 best-seller, too. After all, the book gives us a lot of those locations, and there’s nothing to suggest that the layout of the island in Steven Spielberg’s film differs all that much to the novel it’s based on.
Why “Survival” Will Count as Jurassic Park Canon
Because “Survival” positions itself just a day after the original film ends, uses carefully reconstructed environments and dinosaur behavior, and introduces a narrative built around those elements — it instantly earns a place in Jurassic canon.
In fact, the game, which isn’t even out yet, earns its place in continuity far more than Jurassic World Rebirth does. That film, released during the summer this year, had zero respect and appreciation for canon.
“Survival” might not be a big-screen entry, but it isn’t a spin-off or alternate timeline, either — it’s the next official chapter in Jurassic. And instead of re-treading familiar ground, it adds new characters, new threats, and a different lens through which to view what came before.
So, the next time the credits roll on the original film, after the likes of Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) have escaped by helicopter, you’ll know that the park isn’t quite done pitting humans against dinosaurs yet — for Joshi, the terror has only just begun.
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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