Ark Survival Ascended PS5 Release Date Delayed Again
Ark Survival Ascended, the updated version of the survival game, has finally launched on Xbox, but its PS5 release date has been put back from late November to early December.
Publishers, Studio Wildcard, have said they are still waiting for the game to get through Sony’s PlayStation 5 certification process.
The early access game was released on PC on October 25 and finally released on Xbox on November 21, having suffered similar certification delays on the platform.
With these, and with similar pushbacks for Ark 2, gamers won’t be holding their breath for an imminent launch.
What Is Ark Survival Ascended?
Ark Survival Evolved was launched in early access in 2015, with the full game release following in 2017. It received mixed reviews, with many negative reviews coming for its poor performance. Over time, Ark’s graphics have started to look even more jaded.
Ark 2 was announced in December 2020. Slated for launch in 2022, along with an animated TV series, Vin Diesel was set to take the lead role in the game. Difficulties working with Unreal Engine 5 meant the game was beset by delays. Despite rumors that it would be delayed until 2025, the most recent announcements suggest a 2024 launch is still expected. By Studio Wildcard, at least.
With the continued delays to Ark 2’s release date and the pending closure of Survival Evolved’s official servers, Studio Wildcard announced an updated version of Ark in March 2023. The update uses Unreal Engine 5, rather than the Unreal Engine 4 used by its predecessor. Better graphics and a variety of other improvements were promised.
Official Ark: Survival Evolved servers were closed in September in anticipation of Ascended’s launch, leaving long-time fans frustrated that there were no official Ark servers on any platform or for any variant of the game.
The Launch
The PC version launched in early access on October 25 and was eventually followed by the Xbox version on November 21. PS5 owners expected a similar launch date but have now been told they will have to wait until early December.
With numerous delays already having held the game back, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it pushed back even further.
Mixed Reviews
Like the original, Ark Survival Ascended has been met with mixed reviews, at best, scoring a “generally unfavorable” 4.3 user score on Metacritic. On Xbox, it has fared particularly poorly with frame rates dropping as low as 20fps and typically only averaging around 30fps.
The initial frame rate of the original game was much lower and did improve over time, following regular patches and fixes, so gamers should expect a similar improvement from this iteration.
What Next For Ark?
Ark has a legion of loyal followers, but the continued delays to Ark Survival Ascended are not doing the company’s reputation any favors. Coupled with the already extensive delays to the second title in the series, Ark 2 might struggle to get traction when it does finally launch.
