With their upcoming launch date of August 8 looming close, Studio Wildcard has announced some details for what to expect with the transition to ARK: Survival Evolved 1.0.
ARK: Survival Evolved will launch with support for private, rentable servers hosted by Nitrado. Rentable servers are already available for PC, but now PlayStation 4 and Xbox One owners can benefit from them.
Private servers help alleviate the need for a second server-dedicated console. They give you full control over config settings, let you set custom rules, backup save files, and improve game optimization.
Pricing wasn’t announced but PC servers typically ran about $10-$20 a month, with player slots up to 100.
The third official mod for ARK, Ragnarok, will also roll out to PS4 and XBO owners on launch day for free. Ragnarok is a 144 sq km map that features new biomes, dungeons, and creatures. Ragnarok features snowy mountain peaks and an active volcano, with appropriately themed ice and lava creatures. Ragnarok released last month on PC.
Previously released official mods were The Center, another giant new map with new features, and Primitive+, a total conversion mod that introduces more historical-based crafting. Both mods released last year.
Finally Studio Wildcard confirmed their commitment to no server wipes – meaning you won’t lose progress when the game ticks over to 1.0. Old servers will continue to be supported while new servers will be brought online to support the new influx of players on launch day. These new servers will feature new coding to prevent some rampant hacking and cheating that have been plaguing ARK.
Multiple versions of ARK: Survival Evolved are available to purchase, including a $99 Explorer’s Addition and $159.99 Limited Edition. ARK: Survival Evolved has constantly been a best-selling title since it first launched via Steam Early Access in Summer 2015. It launches August 8 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
