14 November 2023 , 13:21
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Less than a day before the game was supposed to launch, the Xbox and PC version of Ark: Survival Ascended has been delayed.
Ark: Survival Ascended is a remake of the original Ark: Survival Evolved which was released back in 2017. Ark: Survival Ascended brings the original dinosaur-based survival game and all of its expansions to Unreal Engine 5 ahead of a true sequel Ark 2, which is currently slated for a late 2024 release. Survival Ascended launched onto Steam Early Access back in October 2023, while console versions are scheduled for a November 2023 release date.
The Xbox Series X|S version of Ark: Survival Ascended was scheduled to release today on November 14. However, at 6pm GMT / 1pm EST / 10am PST yesterday, the official ARK Twitter account tweeted that the Xbox version of the game won't be released as expected. The tweet said Xbox and Windows Survivors, the game is still going through the certification process and will not be releasing on Tuesday".
The tweet went on to say "We are expecting it to release it later this week, but, we'll update with a more precise time when we have it". So Xbox players shouldn't have to wait too long to play the game.
Left behind
The most bizarre part of this to me is why Ark: Survival Evolved even needed a remake in the first place; especially when it's an early-access title and ARK 2 is not that far away from release. The game's Steam page has a Q&A in which the development team claim the game is aiming to stay in early access until the end of 2024, which could mean this game won't be released fully until Ark 2 is already or close to being out if that games estimated release date holds true.
Why Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's six week delay is a good thing
I understand that the game has been rebuilt completely, but putting a remake of a game that spent a long time in early access into early access feels like a very strange move. Early Steam reviews of Ark: Survival Ascended haven't been the most positive either, with the game sitting with a 'Mixed' rating on Steam, with a large number of user reviews calling the game unoptimized, buggy, and prone to crashing.
Alongside this news, there's been no word on the PS5 version of Ark: Survival Ascended. That version is also set to release this month, however, there's no concrete date in place at the time of writing.