ARK: Survival Ascended reaches a major milestone as the first game to support premium (paid) user mods for console players.
Studio Wildcard and Overwolf (a division of publisher Snail, Inc), have enabled paid user mods for Xbox Series X, with PlayStation 5 support currently in certification. Premium mods are also available to PC players.
“Experienced game developers can leverage the established ARK technical infrastructure as a base, allowing them to concentrate on crafting inventive gameplay and compelling narratives using Unreal Engine 5,” said Jeremy Stieglitz, lead designer, Studio Wildcard. “Moreover, via ARK Survival Ascended’s mod deployment pipeline they can seamlessly playtest their creations on consoles without requiring specialized ‘developer’ hardware units. This streamlined approach removes many of the traditional barriers to console content creation, opening it up to smaller developers and hobbyist creators.”
Premium mods are available through the Overwolf-hosted website Curseforge, a respected site for modders that includes Minecraft, World of Warcraft, and Palworld. Prices for premium ARK mods range between $2 and $10, and represent an interesting halfway point between free mods and official DLC expansion packs.
Premium mods typically offer regular updates and improvements as well (though so too for many free mods!).
Examples of ARK premium mods include Survive the Night, which transforms the entire game into a survival-horror against zombie dinosaurs. Gaia: Potions Plus adds an entire alchemy system with over 60 consumable potions, while GG SkyIslands grants everyone their dream base: a floating island!
Ark: Survival Ascended supports 1900 mods through cross-platform play with PC and consoles, and players can browse and download mods directly through the in-game Mod Browser.
Ark is rated T for Teen.
