ARK: Survival Ascended - Release Date, Features, Delays, & more

First announced in Community Crunch 355, developer Studio Wildcard will bring ARK: Survival Ascended, the next evolution in the series, to consoles and PC alike, powered by the mighty Unreal Engine 5. Here we'll cover everything you need to know about ARK: Survival Ascended - including its release date, new content, platforms, pricing, and the latest news around delays.

ARK: Survival Ascended: Everything We Know So Far

ARK: Survival Ascended is a remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved. Although it’s mostly the same game, Survival Ascended now comes with enhanced graphics and new features to fit current-generation gaming systems. Additionally, you’ll learn other relevant details about ARK: Survival Ascended below:

Release Date (Delays Revealed)

Survival Ascended’s release window has been pushed back to October 2023 from the initial August 2023 date. Although the developers didn’t announce a specific date in October, those waiting for this title should expect the game to release before the end of that month. This fairly early launch date should also help players stay busy until ARK 2 releases sometime in 2024.

Platforms and Pricing

Studio Wildcard will release ARK: Survival Ascended on PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. The game’s standalone version is priced at $40 at launch, then it'll become $45. In comparison, the game's price was supposed to be $59.99, according to a developer’s announcement via Community Crunch 356. Note that players must purchase the expansion packs separately, which break down to:

• $19.99 for the Explorer’s Pass, which includes Scorched Earth, Aberration (Q4 2023), and Extinction (Q1 2024)
• $19.99 for the Genesis Pass, which includes Genesis Part 1 (Q1 2024) and Genesis Part 2 (Q2 2024)

Maps and Content Roadmap

The game’s roadmap indicates that only The Island, Scorched Earth, and the Survival of the Fittest variants of these maps will be in ARK: Survival Ascended at launch. Aberration will be the next update to the game that’ll arrive sometime in the 4th quarter of 2023. Additionally, here’s the rest of the game’s roadmap mentioned in the announcement:

• Extinction (Released by Q1 2024)
• Genesis Part 1 (Released by Q1 2024)
• Genesis Part 2 (Released by Q2 2024)

Also, all community-created maps will arrive in Survival Ascended in 2024, which includes Fjordur, Ragnarok, The Center, Lost Island, Valguero, and Crystal Isles.

Other New Features

As mentioned earlier, ARK: Survival Ascended uses Unreal Engine 5 to power its graphics. But it also brings Nvidia DLSS Support, enhancing the game’s graphical fidelity and performance further. Other features that’ll come with the game are the following:

• Cross-platform multiplayer, modding, and anti-cheat functions
• New structures and building mode improvements
• Quality of life enhancements, including (but not limited to) a gamepad cursor, multiplayer pinging system, Chibi slot, and Skins tab in the menu