[Multi] ARK: Survival Evolved

Studio Wildcard just confirmed the launch date for ARK: Genesis Part I, the next chapter in the epic saga of ARK: Survival Evolved.

Coming on February 25 with simultaneous launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, this first installment of the huge two-part expansion pack will uncover an original secret backstory to the world of ARK. And it wouldn’t be an ARK update without new gear and structures to craft, amazing biomes to explore, and most of all, colossal creatures to discover and tame!

Today Studio Wildcard unlocked the next chapter in the saga of ARK: Survival Evolved with the release of ARK: Genesis - Part 1. Expanding the ARK storyline with all-new mission-based gameplay, ARK: Genesis leads Survivors through beautiful yet lethal new worlds filled with exotic creatures, craftable items, and weapons unlike anything seen before on the ARK!

In the massive ARK: Genesis - Part 1 expansion, Survivors wake up within a virtual simulation accompanied by the strangely familiar ‘HLN-A’ companion. Together they must overcome the simulation’s rigorous tests and only by fighting, building, taming, and exploring this new world will Survivors uncover the secrets behind this forbidding place. Only the toughest and smartest Survivors will pass all of the simulation’s grueling challenges. Will you be one of them?

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The ARK: Genesis Part 1 expansion pack is available to download now as part of the ARK: Genesis Season Pass for Steam on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 for $34.99. The ARK: Genesis Season Pass delivers two new huge expansion packs (Part 1 available today and Part 2 releasing Winter 2020) and the exclusive in-game robotic AI companion called ‘HLN-A’ who guides Survivors with voice navigation and narrative throughout this enduring ARK challenge.

CONQUER EVERY MISSION, WITH YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND
Helena Walker, the biologist who authored the lore-filled explorer notes in ARK: Survival Evolved, has created a hovering AI companion designated ‘HLN-A.’ Fully voiced, she'll act as a guide in ARK: Genesis, providing Survivors with missions, tasks, and story, as well as providing practical uses, such as scanning the detailed statistics of creatures and rapid level traversal, too. Survivors are able to tackle a wide variety of missions covering all kinds of ARK scenarios - everything from gunning down waves of enemies, escorting baby creatures to their parents, hunting down powerful bosses, competing in Dino Races, and even playing Dodo-Basketball!

EXPLORE LETHAL LANDSCAPES
Beautiful biomes are ripe for exploration - but they want to kill! The simulation will test Survivors’ mettle against fetid alien bogs, deep undersea trenches, frigid mountain peaks, even the unstable low-gravity surface of an alien moon! Conquering each area requires preparation, smarts, and improvisation before the natural beauty closes its death-grip.

HUNT AND TAME STRANGE NEW CREATURES
Fantastical yet dangerous creatures call ARK: Genesis home: including island-sized sea turtles, shapeshifting furries that transform from small and cuddly to ferocious, elegant astral whales that live in the vacuum of space, and fireball shooting Magmasaurs that thrive in extreme volcanic environments!

GEAR OUT & BUILD UP, WITH NEW TOOLS AND STRUCTURES
Whether a go-it-alone survivalist, a base-building architect or a weapon-making warmonger, this expansion has a crafting project for all personalities. Make tools from fishing nets to mining drills, or new vehicles such as hover-skiffs. Build interactive structural elements such as pressure plates, alarm systems, jump pads, ocean platforms and more!

Haven’t yet explored the wild world of ARK? ARK: Survival Evolved base game is now on sale at 80% off ($9.99) on all platforms.

ARK: Survival Evolved has launched major visual enhancements for the Xbox Series X, to synchronize with today’s console launch! The studio released a trailer composed of direct-feed footage from the Xbox Series X and Xbox One respectively, highlighting the stunning visual upgrades. The ARK Xbox Series X Enhancement Update is available for download now.

“The increased memory of Xbox Series X lets us keep nearly the entire game world loaded in the background, enabling us to eliminate the “tether” when hosting certain multiplayer modes, while the fast storage medium makes getting into ARK’s gameplay and travelling through its environments extremely quick and smooth,” said Jeremy Stieglitz, Co-founder and Development Director, Studio Wildcard. “Together with the upgrade’s extreme graphics improvements in draw distance, texture resolution, and levels-of-detail, these changes make the feeling of playing ARK on a 4K HDR TV with the Xbox Series X feel like a new, engrossing adventure.”

The ARK: Survival Evolved Series X upgraded features include:

• 4K Output at 30-60 FPS
• Extreme Draw/LOD Distance (Higher than PC)
• Extreme Level Streaming Distance (Higher than PC)
• Epic Sky & Atmospherics Quality
• Epic Subsurface Scattering Quality
• Infinite-Range High Precision Screen Space Ambient Occlusion
• Max Texture Resolution
• 16x Anisotropic Filtering
• Infinite-Range Distance Field Shadows
• Terrain Self-Shadowing
• Epic Dynamic Shadow Quality
• Epic Ground Clutter Distance
• High-Precision HDR Output
• Epic Postprocessing Quality
• Tetherless Non-Dedicated Hosting
• Tetherless Splitscreen
• 100-player Dedicated Server Hosting
• Splitscreen Multiplayer uses Epic Graphics Settings
• 7x Faster Loading Times