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Ark 2 is delayed, so they’re turning off Survival Evolved’s official servers and charging $50 for a remasterIt’s the “ultimate-value bundle”
It’s the “ultimate-value bundle”
ARK 2has been delayed until the end of 2024. The dinosaur survival sequel currently best known for having Vin Diesel in it, for some reason, wasoriginallyaiming for a 2023 release, but developers Studio Wildcard say they need more time.
To compensate, they’re going to instead releaseArk: Survival Ascendedin August, a remaster of the originalArk: Survival Evolvedthat moves it over to Unreal Engine 5. That’s the good news. The bad news is you can only buy it in a $50 bundle with the sequel (which won’t be finished for at least a year), and that the original Survival Evolved servers will be switched off when Ascended launches.
ARK 2 - Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022Watch on YouTube
ARK 2 - Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022
“After careful consideration, we have decided to delay the sequel’s launch to the end of 2024, when it will still launch exclusively on Xbox, Game Pass, and Windows distribution platforms (Steam/PC),” says theannouncement. “We’ve put much thought into delaying ARK 2 for the betterment of the final product and the team’s well-being.”
They pin the delay on several factors, including the development team being new to Unreal Engine 5. They also say that producing Survival Ascended will help them to further their “mastery of the new engine and ultimately battle-test some of our riskier technical advancements.”
The substantial departure in Ark 2 is why Studio Wildcard “feel it is essential to provide players with a fully next-gen version of the original experience to ensure that fans can continue to enjoy the ARK they know for years to come.”
It also explains that “PC players will only be able to get [Ark: Survival Ascended] via an ultimate-value bundle known as the ARK Respawned Bundle.” The bundle contains Ark: Survival Ascended and Ark 2 and will cost $50. Ark 2 won’t be out for at least a year, but players will get a month of closed beta access sometime in 2024. Official servers for Ark: Survival Evolved will be switched off when Survival Ascended launched, although singleplayers and unofficial servers will remain available.
If I was turning off the service my customers already paid for and charging them $50 for an engine upgrade and an IOU, I’m not sure I would have called it the “ultimate-value bundle.” Particularly if I had indicatedas recently as Januarythat the “upgrade/remaster” would be “free”.
