Steam hit ARK gets a new engine and with it an important upgrade – but on the wrong platform
The popular survival game ARK: Survival Evolved is getting an update in September 2022 that will upgrade the game to a newer version of Unreal Engine 4. However, the update will only appear for the Nintendo Switch.
Which platform will receive the update? The Switch version of the popular survival hit is getting a major update in September 2022 with the release of ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition.
- The update brings the Switch version of the game to the latest version of Unreal Engine 4, which is supposed to improve graphics and performance.
- The versions of the survival hit for PS4, Xbox One, Mobile and PC will not receive an update for the time being and will continue to run on an old version of Unreal Engine 4.
The update for the Switch was not designed by Studio Wildcard itself, but by a third-party developer.
If you are interested in what exactly ARK is and what content it offers, you should watch this video:
Switch players have suffered massive losses so far
Why aren’t the other platforms receiving the update? One point of criticism that ARK has had to face again and again for years is the performance. But mobile and switch players were hit particularly hard. There, the survival title had to accept massive losses in content and display.
With the update to the latest version of Unreal Engine 4, Studio Wildcard hopes that the gaming experience on the switch can be brought to the level of PS4 and Xbox One.
The studio therefore does not want to improve the game on all platforms and renew the engine, but rather enable Switch players to have an experience comparable to the other platforms.
Wildcard speaks of a completely redesigned ARK experience, with all the features, graphics and functions of the other platforms. Players should even be able to keep the progress they have made.
This new Switch experience will feature tweaks and upgrades to bring it visually and functionally in line with the Xbox One and PS4 experience. We’re excited about how it’s turning out and we’re sure you will be too!
What engine does ARK typically run on? Epic Games usually releases a newer version of the current Unreal Engine every 2 to 3 months. The first release of Unreal Engine 4 was in March 2014.
The development of ARK: Survival Evolved began in October 2014. The survival game first appeared in Early Access in June 2015. Studio Wildcard has not updated the engine since then.
ARK: Survival Evolved runs on a version of Unreal Engine 4 that was released between October 2014 and June 2015.
What version of Unreal Engine 4 will the Switch get? As Studio Wildcard announced, ARK on the Nintendo Switch will receive an update to the latest version of Unreal Engine 4. This has been renewed regularly.
With version 4.27, the Unreal Engine 4 only received in August 2021 (via unrealengine.com) another update, which last received a hotfix in December.
Update also brings new content to the Switch
What content does the Switch get with the update? The content updates that the Switch version will receive in September 2022 include the “Scorched Earth Expansion Pack” with the associated map Scroched Earth. This appeared on the other platforms in 2016.
In addition, it is planned to release further content updates on the switch at 2-month intervals and to submit the DLCs Aberration, Extinction and Genesis Part 1 & 2.
Studio Wildcard is not only improving ARK on the switch, but is already working on the successor ARK 2. You can read everything you need to know about the upcoming survival title on MeinMMO.
ARK 2: Release, Trailer, Gameplay – What we know so far
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