This was meant to be the year of Ark 2, but it wasn’t to be. Well, there are still 11 days left of the year at the time of writing, but even the most optimistic of Ark fans will know that the survival game sequel won’t be dropping this year as intended. Ark Survival Ascended, however, keeps trucking on, and another double dose of DLC has just landed in the remaster. However, not everyone can play it yet due to some complications on certain platforms.
Ark Survival Ascended aimed to breathe new life into the adored Ark Survival Evolved with a jaw-dropping remaster that would gradually add all of the original game’s expansions over time. In reality, Evolved continues to generally see higher player counts than Ascended (on Steam, at least) and the remaster hasn’t always been best-received by survival game fans. Nevertheless, the expansions keep coming, and today sees the free Extinction DLC and the paid, Mad Max-esque Bob’s Tall Tales: Wasteland War DLC arrive.
While both expansions should be live in Ark Survival Ascended for everyone right now, there’s a catch. Despite it dropping on Steam and PlayStation consoles without an issue, a delay in getting certification from Microsoft means that it is currently not available on Xbox’s PC and console platforms.
“Xbox and Windows users will unfortunately need to wait for the update to clear certification,” a statement on the Ark X account reads. “Currently, the certification process is taking 4x longer than the usual turnaround time. Microsoft is actively investigating our issue, but at this time, we don’t have an ETA yet as to when our submission will be approved nor do we have much insight into the reason for the delay.
“As we want to ensure we have the ability to do more patches post-release, we’re unable to hold back the release any further but as soon as we become unblocked on the Microsoft platforms, we’ll immediately release the update for our Xbox and Windows players.”
Given that Microsoft has partnered with Studio Wildcard to make Ark 2 an Xbox console exclusive and a day-one contender for a spot on our best Game Pass games list, the fact that it’s having certification issues with them is a bit… odd? Concerning, even? It sounds like there’s a backlog, and given the time of year, there are probably fewer people around to clear it, so I’ll sympathize a bit with Studio Wildcard there. But still, not having a big update go live for a huge chunk of your fanbase is… not great.
For those PC players on Steam, though, you’ll be able to head to familiar ground with the Extinction DLC. Sending players back to a desolate and corrupted Earth, there are new dinos to tame, new items to craft, and new missions to complete. The narrative of Extinction also “completes your conquest of the ARK universe.” It sure would be nice if an Ark 2 release date was waiting just around the corner so we could slide into the new game afterwards, eh?
In the latest paid Bob’s Tall Tales DLC, Wasteland War, you’ll also get access to loads of Fallout and Mad Max-pilled content, including a new dog companion and makeshift BattleRig vehicles. You can find out full details on both Extinction and Wasteland War right here.
If you love Ark, why not take a look at some other amazing dinosaur games? Alternatively, these open-world games will be perfect for those that love to explore Ark’s stunning biomes.
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