Studio Wildcard has announced major changes to the Ark: Survival Ascended development roadmap in Community Crunch 451, prioritizing an Unreal Engine 5.5 upgrade scheduled for mid-April to mid-May. This technical overhaul has pushed the highly-anticipated Ragnarok map release to June 2nd, 2024, while introducing several quality-of-life improvements including optional map downloads and a low-system requirement mode coming this summer.
UE 5.5 Upgrade Becomes Top Priority
Studio Wildcard has shifted all core engineering resources to focus on upgrading Ark: Survival Ascended to Unreal Engine 5.5. This substantial update is targeting release between April 15 and May 15, 2024, promising immediate benefits to performance with improved rendering capabilities and faster load times.
Once implemented, maps other than The Island will become optional downloads, significantly reducing the base game size and allowing players to choose which environments they want installed. This change should help address storage concerns that have plagued the game since launch.
For mod creators and users, Overwolf will automatically recook all ASA mods for UE 5.5 compatibility, with Premium Mods and popular Free Mods receiving direct verification before release. The developers have also committed to limiting future engine upgrades to once per year to minimize disruption.
Ragnarok Map Confirmed for June 2nd
As a direct result of the engine upgrade timeline, the Ragnarok map release has been pushed back to June 2nd, 2024. The map is being built specifically for UE 5.5, making the engine upgrade a prerequisite for its release. In a positive development, Studio Wildcard revealed that the original creators of Ragnarok have rejoined the studio to help complete the map, potentially ensuring it maintains the spirit of the beloved original version.
What's Coming for Lower-End PC Players?
Players with less powerful hardware will be pleased to learn that a one-click "low-system-requirement mode" is scheduled for release this summer. This mode will enable Ark: Survival Ascended to run on GeForce 1080-level graphics cards and systems with 16GB RAM. The developers note it will look similar to the "Shader Model 4" mode from the original ARK: Survival Evolved.
Astraeos Transfers Opening Soon
Players waiting to bring their existing characters and tames to the Greek-inspired Astraeos map won't have to wait much longer. Official Astraeos transfers will fully open on April 11th, 2024, allowing survivors to move items, creatures, and characters onto the map without restriction.
This announcement coincides with the conclusion of the Astraeos contest, with "Medusa? I hardly know her" by squid.48 taking the grand prize. Category winners were also named across Art, Build, and Photo Mode categories, with prizes including the ARK: The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack.
Upcoming Events and Server Changes
The traditional Eggcellent Adventure event is planned for April 2024, though exact dates are still being determined and may potentially be pushed back due to the UE 5.5 upgrade work.
In less welcome news for some players, 96 inactive official servers will be sunset on May 20th, 2024. Nitrado will offer these saves after sunset through their interface, with additional details to be provided closer to the shutdown date.
Weekend bonus rates remain active until March 31, 2024, with multipliers for harvesting, taming, experience, and breeding across all server types:
- PVP/PVE: 3x Harvesting, Taming, Experience, and Breeding
- Small Tribes: 5.5x Harvesting, Taming, Experience + 5x Breeding
- ARKpocalypse: 6x Harvesting, Taming, Experience, and Breeding
New Cosmetic Content Available
A new ARK The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack has been released, featuring character skins for Jane, Chava, and two versions of Mei Yin. The pack also includes over 75 creature skins for various dinosaurs and other creatures including Mammoth, Tusoteuthis, and Spinosaurus.
While the UE 5.5 upgrade has caused some delays to the roadmap, the development team continues work on additional maps for 2024, bug fixes, balance adjustments, and quality of life improvements. Development also continues on ASA's first canonical expansion pack, ARK: Lost Colony, though no specific release timeframe was provided.