ARK: Survival Ascended Release Delayed to October Due to Unreal Engine 5.2 Challenges, Studio Wildcard Confirms

Studio Wildcard has announced a delay in the release of ARK: Survival Ascended, a remaster of their popular game, ARK: Survival Evolved. The game, originally slated for release in August, is now set to launch in October due to difficulties faced with the latest Unreal Engine 5.2.

The developer team has elected to take additional time to remaster some DLC packs, including Scorched Earth, Ragnarok, and Aberration, further pushing their release dates. The Island, however, will be available at launch.

ARK: Survival Ascended will launch in Early Access with a price tag of $44.99, but there will be an initial launch discount of five dollars, bringing the cost down to $39.99. Due to the game's delay, the planned shutdown of ARK: Survival Evolved servers has also been pushed back and is now scheduled for September 30th.

Despite the delay of ARK: Survival Ascended, ARK 2, which stars Vin Diesel as one of the main characters, is still scheduled to launch at the end of 2024. This announcement comes amid rumors of a further delay into 2025.

ARK: Survival Ascended has sparked controversy previously when Studio Wildcard retracted their offer of a free upgrade for existing owners of ARK: Survival Evolved, stating that they had underestimated the resources required for a proper remaster. The remastered version promises dynamic water, interactive foliage, enhanced art assets, a new third-person camera view, updated minimap, a directional sprint and walk feature, a queue system, and several other exciting features.

As the gaming community awaits further updates, it is advised to stay tuned for official announcements from Studio Wildcard.