ARK: Survival Evolved Devs Talk Wiping Servers Post-Release & PS4 Update Delay

ARK: Survival Evolved will officially release on Aug. 8, and that raises many questions for the game’s hardcore players who have been enjoying early access for the past several months. In a new state of the game blog post, Studio Wildcard addresses all the major issues, from servers to updates.

First and foremost, once ARK’s retail version goes live, servers for existing players will not be wiped. Instead, PvP and PvE environments will be grouped into Legacy and standard categories. That essentially means anyone who wants to start fresh will have the freedom to do so, while those attached to their current games don’t have to lose any progress. To make room for those changes, a handful of “ghost town” servers will be taken offline.

Also related to servers, as of launch day, those with the proper know-how will be able to host their own dedicated PS4 or Xbox One ARK servers using a PC. The developer won’t be providing any rentals or support along those lines, but those who want the benefit of backing up files or controlling individual settings can make it happen. Sometime after launch, Play Anywhere capability between Xbox One and PC will even be added.

Speaking of consoles, despite recent delays, a massive PS4 bugfix update is planned to release during the late evening hours of July 21 or early morning July 22 depending on timezone. No word has been offered as to the specific content the patch will contain, but at this point we’d expect it to be in line with the PC’s recent round of tweaks found in version 263. That would include a few new items, a new Dino model and plenty of minor buffs and nerfs.

Wildcard also dropped some pretty good news for modding fans. Over the next few hours from the time of writing, the developer will release a new development kit to facilitate the creation of user-made content on the PC. For those hoping to play the officially modded Ragnarok map on PS4 or Xbox One, that content will be made available on Aug. 8 when the game launches.

ARK: Survival Evolved has endured a rocky development cycle since its release date was officially revealed during E3. That being said, there’s very little here for survivors to be angry about. The PS4 patch and Ragnarok delays are a bit frustrating, but they make sense given the very flexible server changes described above. In the post-launch months, it will be interesting to see which server cluster remains more active. Will the Legacy community carry this game, or will its finalized SKU invite new players over time? We’ll have to wait and see.

ARK: Survival Evolved is in early access on PC, Xbox One, PS4, OS X and Linux. It officially releases on those same platforms Aug. 8.

Are you OK with ARK’s post-launch plans? Will they create a strong game moving forward? Tell us in the comments section!