Grove Street Games and Snail Games (in partnership with Studio Wildcard) have released ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition on iOS and Android digital stores as a free-to-play title.
The Ultimate Mobile Edition is a massive update, upgrading the aging mobile edition (which originally released in 2018) with the full ARK experience, including all released expansion packs, community maps, and more.
Well, sort of, The app launches with the original ARK map, along with the maps from Scorched Earth and Aberration as in-game purchases ($5.99 each). The rest will follow throughout 2025.
Players begin their ARK experience without any items (or clothes!) on a dangerous island full of over 150 prehistoric dinosaurs and other dangerous creatures. They must chop trees, break rocks, and forage for food while building shelter and taming dinosaurs. ARK can be played singleplayer, or online using servers.
Instead of purchasing individual expansions, players can opt in for the ARK Pass ($4.99/mo or $49.99/yr). The ARK Pass grants access to all current and future expansions, as well as bonus XP, in-game currency, exclusive servers, and console commands for single-player (AKA cheat mode!).
As an aging gamer, it still shocks me that games as gigantic and graphics-intensive as ARK can run on a tiny phone. These kids today!
ARK’s big remake, Survival Ascended, is still on Early Access on PC, and rated T for Teen.
