Studio Wildcard has delayed the release of Ark: Survival Ascended.
Previously scheduled to arrive in August 2023, the “next-generation remaster” of Ark: Survival Evolved will now be released for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC in October.
The game’s launch price has also been reduced from $59.99 because it will arrive with less content than previously planned. It will have an Early Access price point of $44.99, with a launch discount bringing it to $39.99.
“We’ve found it challenging working with Unreal Engine 5.2, but at the same time, it is incredibly exciting,” Studio Wildcard explained. “We’re discovering new ways each day to push the technology to the next level; combined with the work needed to support a fully cross-platform-moddable game ecosystem on consoles and PC, it’s clear that we’ll need a bit more time.
“We’ve also decided to separate the release date of The Island and Scorched Earth. With what we’ve learned about remastering The Island from the ground-up, it wouldn’t be feasible to complete Scorched Earth to a standard we’re happy with.
“So for now, we’re going to plan that Scorched Earth will be coming to ASA in December this year, Ragnarok and Aberration will follow in Q1 2024, and the rest of the maps beyond then.”
It added: “Ark: Survival Ascended will leave Early Access in late 2024 once all the content has finished its next-generation remastering.”
Studio Wildcard previously confirmed that when Survival Ascended is released, the official servers for Survival Evolved will be closed, essentially cutting off access to players who don’t pay for the upgrade.
The servers were scheduled to go offline in August, but following Ascended’s delay, they’ll now be shut down on September 30.
Ascended was announced in March
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