Today, at midnight UTC on September 30th (1am BST October 1st), Ark: Survival Evolved’s official servers will be shutting down. This closure is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new chapter in the game’s evolution. So, what does this mean for the dedicated players of Ark: Survival Evolved?
The closure of the official servers is paving the way for the release of Ark: Survival Ascended in Steam Early Access this October. This piecemeal remake of Ark: Survival Evolved brings the dino-breeding survival game to the powerful Unreal Engine 5. Studio Wildcard, the developers behind the game, have taken this opportunity to clean up the codebase and enhance the overall gameplay experience.
Ark: Survival Ascended promises new creatures, revamped structures, and graphical upgrades to take advantage of Unreal Engine 5’s capabilities. The island layout will also receive a gentle revamp, offering a fresh experience for players. However, it is important to note that much of the expansion content from Survival Evolved will not be available at launch. Additionally, features such as crossplay will also be absent initially due to the anticipated bugs that may arise.
Reasoning Behind the Changes
Studio Wildcard has been transparent about the motives behind these changes. One primary reason for the release of Ark: Survival Ascended is to help fund the development of Ark 2, a new Souls-like adventure. The studio states that developing a next-generation sequel without the revenue from paid expansion packs has proven challenging for their long-term survival. By releasing Ark: Survival Ascended, they can generate the necessary revenue while working on Ark 2. Furthermore, Studio Wildcard aims to provide the community with a classic Ark experience while designing a new game.
Players need not worry about losing their hard-earned progress. A snapshot of all player saves uploaded to official servers will be taken at midnight UTC, and these saves will be available for download on Thursday, October 5th. This means that players can continue their Ark journey by hosting the save offline or on a private dedicated server. However, it is crucial to note that items, dinosaurs, and characters saved in the ARK cloud will not be included in the save. Players are advised to download anything they wish to keep prior to the save on September 30th.
As of now, there is no gameplay footage of Ark: Survival Ascended available. However, Studio Wildcard assures players that they will be able to see the game through a trailer and screenshots before its release in October. This will provide potential buyers with a glimpse into the game’s features and improvements.
A Change in Plans
Initially, developers hinted that Survival Ascended would be a free upgrade for Survival Evolved. However, Studio Wildcard later announced a delay in the release of Ark 2 until the end of 2024. To bridge the gap, they decided to bundle Ark: Survival Ascended with an Ark 2 pre-order for $50. This decision received backlash from the community, leading the studio to revise the bundle by removing the Ark 2 pre-order and increasing the price to $60. Furthermore, a delay in the project’s timeline resulted in a reduction in the cost of Ark: Survival Ascended to $45 or $40 with a launch discount.
As a casual player of Ark: Survival Evolved, the series of changes and decisions surrounding the release of Ark: Survival Ascended seems slightly bewildering to me. The game has already sold over 30 million copies, with many more playing through Game Pass. Now, players are expected to pay an additional $40 or $45 to help developers find bugs in a partial Early Access remake of a game they have already purchased. It is a bold strategy, and one can’t help but wonder if it will pay off for the developers.
In the end, the success of Ark: Survival Ascended and its impact on the Ark community will depend on the quality of the remake, the value it brings to the players, and Studio Wildcard’s ability to address any issues swiftly.
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