ARK: Survival Evolved remaster coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series

Studio Wildcard obviously disappointed many fans by confirming Ark II has been delayed to late 2024 tonight, but we'll still get a small taste of what awaits in a few months.

Because the studio followed the bad news with some good, as the developers want to familiarise themselves with Unreal Engine 5 by making a ARK: Survival Evolved remaster for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. It's called ARK: Survival Ascended, and is set to launch by the end of August. This version will include the base game, The Island, Scorched Earth, Survival of the Fittest and all the "Non-Canon" DLC maps (will be added over time). The expansions will be sold separately in packs.

In terms of the visual upgrades this remaster will offer, we're told to look forward to Unreal Engine 5's Nanite, Lumen and RTXDI technology, dynamic water, interactive foliage, cross-platform multiplayer and mods, and quality-of-life changes like an updated mini-map, new third-person camera, a ping-system and an exuberant amount of other things that will be revealed closer to launch and found here.

Good news all around, right? Not quite, as ARK: Survival Evolved's final content update will become available in June before the game's official servers will shut down in August. Not exactly devastating news when it seems like the large majority is playing single-player or on other kinds of servers these days, but still kind of sad.