Ark Developer Backpedals on Survival Ascended Bundle After Community Outcry
Studio Wildcard has announced that it will be scrapping the Ark: Survival Ascended bundle following backlash from fans.
The developer explained in a community blog post published on Steam last Friday that it has backpedaled on the decision to bundle Survival Ascended with Ark 2, which recently got delayed to 2024:
"Our intention behind this was to provide a package where you essentially got two products for the price of one. In hindsight, not the best move," the studio wrote. "Our bad; we recognize how combining Ark Survival Ascended with Ark 2 and requiring further DLC upgrades wasn’t optimal, especially since you wouldn’t be able to judge Ark 2 as no gameplay or content would be available yet."
Because of the fan feedback Studio Wildcard received regarding that issue, it is now making Ark: Survival Ascended a standalone game, with the DLC content gradually built in instead of being sold on digital storefronts, for $59.99. The content and their release windows include:
The studio also reiterated it would be sunsetting Ark: Survival Evolved on August 31 in order to prepare for the launch of Survival Ascended. However, it will update the game one last time on its 8th anniversary in June by introducing Rhyniognatha, a new creature that won a community election.
The initial announcement of the Ark Respawned Bundle caused confusion among fans because they were upset about Survival Evolved getting shut down and having to pay for the Unreal Engine 5 upgrade, had previously been teased as a free upgrade. Studio Wildcard explained that its original plan had been to port the Switch version of the game with no upgrades for free, but came to the conclusion that such an upgrade would "not be sufficient" and opted to create an "evergreen
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