We are aware the headline reads like something made for April's Fools but sadly it is not.
ARK: Survival Evolved has had its fair share of controversy as Studio WIldcard mishandled various situations, such as banning a content creator for pointing out the game's flaws instead of fixing them, but it appears the devs have more curveballs in store to throw at the players.
They recently announced that ARK 2 will be delayed until 2024 but they would release a next-gen version of the first game by the end of August 2023. It will be called ARK: Survival Ascended.
When the launch happens, however, ARK: Survival Evolved's official servers will be turned off and allocated to Survival Ascended , which will be a paid upgrade.
Thankfully, the unofficial servers can still remain online so many players who didn't utilise the official ones shouldn't feel any difference. The wording suggests no new players will be able to hop in, however, it seems like Survival Evolved may not be sold after August 2023.
In any case, a next-gen version that costs $40 for PS5 or $50 for PC and XSX/S is hardly justifiable, even if the latter comes bundled with ARK 2 as it seems the purpose of Survival Ascended is to both double-dip and drive up sales of the sequel, at the expense of the players.
Grapeshot Games
ARK fans feel slighted even further because one of the head honchos at Studio Wildcard announced this would be a " free upgrade/remaster of ARK Survival Evolved in UnrealEngine5 ".
Considering the period of time ARK: Survival Evolved spent in Early Access, it seems likely it will have been there for longer than it was out as a fully launched game by the time the official servers go down.
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