ARK: Survival Ascendedreleased on Steam on October 25, over eight years after the release of the originalARK: Survival Evolved. However, at The Game Awards in 2020,ARK 2was announced. So isARK: Survival AscendedARK 2?Or, will it replaceARK: Survival Evolved?Keep reading for everything you need to know about the present and future ofARK.
IsARK: Survival AscendedactuallyARK 2?
Despite the improved visuals,ARK: Survival Ascendedactually has no relation toARK 2.In fact, even though fans probably expectARK 2to be similar to the original, developer Studio Wildcard have indicated that won’t be the case. In 2022, the developers revealed thatARK 2will be a third-person souls-like game. While still a survival game, it will be heavily reliant on skill. Also, the third-person gameplay will featured advanced character traversal mechanics including mangling, free-climbing, swinging, and sliding.
WillARK: Survival AscendedreplaceARK: Survival Evolved?
Technically,ARK: Survival Evolvedstill exists even withARK: Survival Ascendednow available. However, there are no longer official servers or support forARK: SE. With enhanced graphics and systems using the power of Unreal Engine 5, Studio Wildcard will be able to do more to improve and optimizeARK: Survival Ascended.
As such, the original will no longer receive updates or be supported. Once the remaster catches up in terms of content, it will begin to receive new content while the original no longer will. Furthermore, Unreal Engine 5 allowsARKto have cross-platform and cross-modding support for the first time ever. This will only increase the popularity and lifespan of the new version compared to the old one.
For those that do not wish to purchaseSurvival Ascended, they can still playSurvival Evolved. However, if they encounter any issues, they will not be able to get assistance from Studio Wildcard.
Differences in content
All of the DLC items fromARK: Survival Evolvedhas been updated to organically fit into the base game ofARK: Survival Ascended. The DLC maps will also eventually be making their way to the base game and included inARK: Survival Ascended, though as of now onlyThe Islandis available.
Also, some items like the Electronic Binoculars fromARK: Survival Evolvedhave been reworked in the new version asTek Binoculars. It would have been impossible to get them otherwise due to the new reworked map.
