Ark: Survival Evolved has been a constantly growing and adapting experience — appropriate, for a game that’s all about surviving in a prehistoric world — and it’s coming to mobile devices this spring, publisher Studio Wildcard announced today.
War Drum Studios, which brought Rockstar Games projects such as Bully and multiple Grand Theft Auto titles to mobile devices, is handling the mobile version. In fact, it will be “designed and developed” by War Drum, according to a news release from Studio Wildcard.
This will not be a stand-alone spinoff of the existing game, but “the full online survival experience contained in the PC and console versions,” according to Studio Wildcard: exploration, more than 80 dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts to tame and train, tribe mechanics, crafting, and building. It’s an ambitious goal, but being able to tame dinosaurs on the go certainly sounds like a rewarding experience.
A closed beta of Ark is going live today on iOS. Following that test run, War Drum and Studio Wildcard are planning to launch the game on both iOS and Android this spring. Prior to this mobile launch, Ark has racked up sales of more than 9 million copies and over 13 million players across all platforms. This latest evolution has the potential to further grow the player base, especially since it will be available as a free-to-play offering.
Ark: Survival Evolved debuted on Windows PC as a Steam Early Access title in June 2015, and left early access in August 2017. The game is also available on Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
