Ark: Survival Ascended

Ark: Survival Ascended is an action-adventure survival video game developed by Studio Wildcard. It is a remaster of the 2015 game Ark: Survival Evolved. It was released in early access for Windows on October 25, 2023, Xbox Series S/X on November 21, 2023, and PlayStation 5 on November 30, 2023.

Development
Survival Ascended was announced in March 2023 to be released in August 2023, however this release window was then delayed until October 2023. Survival Evolveds official servers were set to be shut down at the same time, with the shutdown date being delayed until September 30, 2023 when Survival Ascendeds release window was pushed back. Unlike previously stated by the studio co-founder, the remaster would not be a free upgrade. Survival Ascended was eventually released in early access for Windows on October 25, 2023.

The remaster includes a graphical overhaul, providing improved visuals, character models, and environments by using Unreal Engine 5.

Ark: Survival Ascended is available in early access, including the base game with the Island map and plans to release all Ark: Survival Evolved map DLCs in their original order. The final map, Fjordur, is expected in October 2025, shortly before the release of Ark 2. The game also features a remaster of the battle royale mode, Survival Of The Fittest as well as Club Ark, a hub for social minigames.

The full release is planned for late 2024.

Early Access
Initially the release received a wave of negative reviews, primarily due to performance issues. Users reported low FPS, frequent game crashes, and loss of world saves. Server stability was problematic, with the Official Network frequently taken down for hours to address critical exploits. These downtimes often resulted in "rollbacks", causing players to lose progress and become frustrated. Additionally, the console editions experienced significant delays, being pushed back nearly a month from the PC release.

Studio WildCard addressed some of the issues observed on release by improving server stability and fixing bugs. This shifted attention to the gameplay itself, with a lot of focus being on the aspects that set it apart from Survival Evolved. The Steam rating of "Mixed" reflects the communities divided opinion on the improvements and new features. Below are a few points commonly mentioned by reviewers. This list is not exhaustive and may reflect subjective opinions of the sources cited.

Praise

 * A cross platform modding system through Overwolf allowed creators to easily make and distribute mods to the community.
 * Visuals and graphics were much improved through additions like dynamic fluids, interactive foliage and volumetric clouds.
 * The character creation system was overhauled with the ability to customize much finer details.
 * Building was improved, with more structures and better "snapping" on uneven terrains.

Criticism

 * Despite attempts at optimization, the game continued to face criticism for poor performance, even on high-end hardware. Many users resorted to playing on the lowest visual settings and using console commands to disable features like volumetric clouds. This significantly diminished one of the game's main attractions - its visuals.
 * Paid additions have been described as Pay2Win, offering an advantage that can only be attained through purchase. This is most notably seen with the Pyromane, a strong fire-controlling lion that requires players to purchase a $4.99 expansion to tame.
 * Self-Hosted servers are now only available through Nitrado due to an exclusivity agreement made with Studio WildCard.
 * Bugs present on Ark: Survival Evolved persisting to Survival Ascended cast doubts the game was truly "rebuilt from the ground up" as Studio WildCard claimed.

Sales
Ark: Survival Ascended ranked as the #1 top selling steam game on release day. It sold over 600,000 copies in the first two weeks, and reached 1.6 million within 5 months. The game was priced at $44.99 in the US, and has remained that price to date. Additional income has been accrued through paid DLCs such as "Bob's Tall Tales".