ARK: Survival Ascended, the upcoming Unreal Engine 5-based remastered version of the popular "survival game with dinosaurs" title ARK: Survival Evolved, will now miss its previously announced release date of late August.
In the game"s official newsletter posted over the weekend, developer Studio Wildcard now says ARK: Survival Ascended will now launch sometime in October 2023. It stated it need more time to work with the game and the new graphics engine:
We’ve found it challenging working with Unreal Engine 5.2, but at the same time, it is incredibly exciting. 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.
The good news is that the game will launch at a lower price point. Originally, the price was to cost $59.99 but now it will be priced at $39.99 at first. It will then launch as an Early Access game for $44.99. That price will remain the same until it leaves Early Access, which is supposed to happen in late 2024. It will be released for the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S and X platforms.
The bad news is that the game will not have as much content on the day of its release. It will ship with The Island, but the Scorched Earth expansion will now be added in December 2023. The game"s other planned DLC content will be delayed as well into 2024. Actual gameplay footage from ARK: Survival Ascended is planned to be revealed closer to its launch date.
As a result of the remastered game"s delay, the official online network for the original ARK: Survival Evolved game will now shut down on September 30 instead of August 31.
Meanwhile, the developer did not offer a new development update this month on ARK II, the full-fledged sequel to the ARK franchise. That game is currently scheduled for release in late 2024.