ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition has received a major performance upgrade on the Switch 2. While the refresh encompasses everything from higher resolution support to improved frame rates, some early impressions from ARK: Survival Evolved players suggest the patch is not without problems.
ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition has been available on the eShop since November 2022. It bundles ARK: Survival Evolved with five of its expansions: Aberration, Extinction, Scorched Earth, and Genesis Parts 1 and 2.
Ark: Survival Evolved is Completely Broken After New DLC
New reports indicate that Ark: Survival Evolved is in a completely broken state after the arrival of the highly anticipated Aquatica DLC.
ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition Gets Visual and Performance Improvements to Switch 2
A new update for the hit game has reached the eShop on Wednesday, October 15. Identified by version number 2.0.14, it aims to take advantage of the improved hardware capabilities of the Switch 2, delivering support for higher resolution and steadier frame rates, as well as increasing shadow and anti-aliasing quality. The official patch notes do not elaborate on these stated enhancements, beyond describing them as delivering "the definitive ARK experience" on the Switch 2. Coinciding with this release, ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition got a 60% discount on the eShop, dropping to $19.99 until November 5.
ARK: Survival Evolved Reportedly Still Has Frame Rate Issues on Switch 2
Early player reports indicate that the latest version of the game updates the handheld resolution to 1080p, taking full advantage of the Switch 2's Full HD display. Multiple fans have also acknowledged improved anti-aliasing, commenting on visibly smoother edges after updating to the new build. Performance impressions, however, appear to be a mixed bag. According to one player testimony, the update has actually degraded performance in certain scenarios. Before the October 15 patch rolled out, ARK: Survival Evolved supported console commands that could uncap its frame rate and up its resolution to 1080p on the Switch 2. "With the Switch 2 update, it runs in [sic] 1080p without needing the command, but it runs at 25fps and only 60 when I look at the sky," the fan wrote.
ARK: Survival Evolved Is Shutting Down Some Switch Servers
Grove Street Games, the studio in charge of the Switch port, has yet acknowledged the reported issues. However, the developer confirmed that the 2.0.14 patch will roll out in Japan and other parts of Asia a bit later, during the week of October 20. Alongside the update, the company plans to reduce the number of official servers in order to improve moderation and enhance the multiplayer experience by consolidating the player base. ARK: Survival Evolved Switch players on the affected servers are advised to use the in-game transfer system to migrate to a new server before November 5, when some servers will be decommissioned.
ARK: Survival Evolved Update 2.0.14 Patch Notes
- Switch 2 support! Improved performance and resolution when playing on a Nintendo Switch 2
- Fix for losing Genesis mission data
- Fix for inventory loss when un-cryopodding a Carcharodontosaurus
- Multiplayer: Login messages now also appear in chat
- Multiplayer: Decayed structures now auto-destroy as expected
- Multiplayer: Fixed player names not appearing in third person view
- Multiplayer: Fix for placing Industrial Grinder in PvE
- Single Player: New Survivors will automatically possess any existing structures & tames on the map
- Single Player: Resources now respawn based on real world clock and not in-game clock
- Single Player: Increased structure limit on Platform Saddles
- HUD item notifications for ADDED and REMOVED shortened to + and -
- Dozens of various crash & exploit fixes
- Dozens of various bug fixes & stability improvements
ARK: Survival Evolved Servers Shutting Down on November 5
- Asia-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Aberration265
- Asia-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Extinction304
- Asia-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Extinction305
- Asia-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Extinction310
- Asia-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne333
- Asia-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne334
- Asia-PVE-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth199
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration268
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration270
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne-SmallTribes346
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne341
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok263
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok264
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth202
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth204
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland179
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland186
- Asia-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland196
- EU-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Aberration151
- EU-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Aberration152
- EU-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Extinction213
- EU-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne288
- EU-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne289
- EU-PVE-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth130
- EU-PVE-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth132
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration155
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration156
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction-SmallTribes243
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction214
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction215
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne-SmallTribes299
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne292
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo329
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok160
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok162
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth128
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth129
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland121
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland122
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland360
- EU-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland361
- NA-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Aberration140
- NA-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Extinction219
- NA-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne281
- NA-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne282
- NA-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne283
- NA-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo317
- NA-PVE-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth120
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration142
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration143
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction-SmallTribes236
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction221
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne-SmallTribes298
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne284
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne286
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne287
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo321
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo323
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo324
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok167
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok168
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth115
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth117
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland110
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland352
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland353
- NA-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland354
- OC-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Aberration145
- OC-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Aberration146
- OC-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Extinction223
- OC-PVE-SwitchOfficial-Extinction225
- OC-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenOne294
- OC-PVE-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo327
- OC-PVE-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth138
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration149
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Aberration150
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction-SmallTribes252
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction226
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Extinction227
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne-SmallTribes302
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenOne296
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo-SmallTribes315
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-GenTwo326
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok-SmallTribes247
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok172
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-Ragnarok173
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-ScorchedEarth136
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland-SmallTribes245
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland104
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland105
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland107
- OC-PVP-SwitchOfficial-TheIsland133
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 61 /100 Critics Rec: 13%
- Released
- August 29, 2017
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Crude Humor, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Studio Wildcard
- Publisher(s)
- Studio Wildcard
- Genre(s)
- Survival