Ark: Survival Ascended — Everything We Know

In light of Ark: Survival Evolved being shut down this coming August, Studio Wildcard has gone ahead and announced Ark: Survival Ascended, a full-fledged remaster that will include not only the base game, but The Island, Survival of the Fittest, and all future DLC maps. According to the devs, this overly ambitious remaster will utilize “the power of Unreal Engine 5″—a game engine best suited for next-gen consoles and top-shelf PCs.

So, what more do you need to know about the upcoming torchbearer, and why should you consider forking over the lofty $50 price tag to reap all the same benefits as Ark: Survival Evolved? Well, here’s everything we can tell you. Survival Ascended: what, when, and above all — why?

What Is Ark: Survival Ascended?

To put it short, Ark: Survival Ascended is a rewrap of Ark: Survival Evolved, an MMO survival game that casts players as stranded survivors in a world dominated by primeval creatures. Ahead of Ark II, which will now be gearing up for a 2024 launch, Survival Ascended will replace Survival Evolved this coming August. A specific date has yet to be announced.

So, what is Survival Evolved (or Survival Ascended, in this case), and what does it offer that other MMOs simply fail to comprehend? Well, leviathan dinosaurs meshed with fully automatic weapons, for one. And not just that, but an entire living, breathing, and ever-evolving island known as the ARK—a world in which elements are fierce and misfortune is commonplace.

In a similar vein to a lot of survival games, Ark supplies all the basic ingredients for a drawn-out venture. Excluding the expansions (DLC which will be bundled in with Survival Ascended), Ark lays the foundations for an immersive experience. Without the linearized structure, players can carve their own paths, and learn to withstand the trials and tribulations in any way they deem necessary.

To echo, Ark: Survival Ascended will include the base game, as well as the following expansions: The Island, Survival of the Fittest, and all the “non-canon” DLC maps that will release in the aftermath of its August launch. So, evidently there’s more to it than what meets the eye—which, admittedly, is a generic reskin with a $50 admission fee.

Story

Washed up on the ominous shores of a remote island known as ARK, you begin your journey the same as anyone else—naked, alone, and without the basic necessities to survive so much as a day. It is here where you, without even the clothes on your back, will learn to survive in a hostile world engulfed in conflict and despair. How you go about building said life will depend on your ability to build, scavenge, and above all, adapt, knowing full well all odds are against your favour.

In Studio Wildcard’s own words: “As a man or woman stranded naked, freezing and starving on the shores of a mysterious island called ARK, you must hunt, harvest resources, craft items, grow crops, research technologies, and build shelters to withstand the elements. Use your cunning and resources to kill or tame & breed the leviathan dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the land, and team up with or prey on hundreds of other players to survive, dominate… and escape!”

Gameplay

Like a lot of survival games on the market, Survival Evolved features a vast open world that’s entirely explorable and customizable. As you’ll come to learn, beginning your journey in the nude and without so much as two sticks to rub together, building a haven that can withstand the horrors of ARK won’t come easy. And what’s more, with other players also in the same boat as you, you will need to either forge alliances to fend off the primeval beasts that roam the lands, or learn to stand on your own two feet and fashion a sturdy enough fortress to secure your own safety.

Of course, being a non-linear game, there are no rules or pathways to follow. Instead, players need only learn the ropes and develop a route for themselves, either by hunting, scavenging, or obliterating other survivors in the hopes of garnering more resources to survive the day-to-day. It’s survival of the fittest, clear as day, and anyone who dares to brave the chaos should certainly keep their wits about them. There’s no hand-holding here, I’m afraid.

Development

Studio Wildcard announced Survival Ascended in conjunction with the news involving the delay of Ark II. Going by the news of the setback, the upcoming remaster will replace all current activity found in Survival Evolved, and will look to terminate the servers on ex-gen consoles this coming August.

Ark: Survival Evolved first came to light back in 2015, after which the MMO found stable ground as one of the most sought after survival games on the market. Since then, Studio Wildcard has spun several webs in the form of DLC, all of which will now find a permanent place in the upcoming remaster.

Trailer

Ready to invest in Survival Ascended? If so, then you’ll no doubt be wanting to catch some of its in-game footage ahead of its launch. Bad news there, unfortunately, as Studio Wildcard has yet to bring one to the table. Until it does, you can see the original announcement trailer for Survival Evolved in the video embedded above. Same thing, really.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Ark: Survival Ascended will be launching on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC in August 2023. Does this mean it won’t be heading to ex-gen hardware? At present, it certainly seems that way. Having said that, depending on the popularity of the revamped version, this could very will change in the future. But at this point, its too early to say.

There is a slight caveat here, however, and that’s involving Ark II—a sequel that is being made exclusively for Xbox Series X|S. Turns out, Survival Ascended on Xbox Series will include the sequel as part of its $50 price tag. On PlayStation 5, however, the game will only launch as a standalone copy, and for $40. So, keep that in mind when choosing your copy, as Xbox users will clearly hold the advantage in this case.

For more information on the Ark: Survival Ascended launch, you can follow the official social feed here. If anything changes ahead of its launch—as well as Survival Evolved’s server shutdown—then we’ll be sure to let you know all of the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Ark: Survival Ascended when it drops? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.