Summary
- Xbox and Microsoft Store players are unable to access new Ark: Survival Ascended DLCs due to a certification delay.
- The new Extinction and Wasteland War DLCs offer fresh content like mechanical creatures and customizable cars.
- Studio Wildcard released the DLCs on other platforms and disabled certain features until all platforms are in parity.
Ark: Survival Ascended has just received two new DLCs, namely Extinction Ascended and Bob's Tall Tales: Wasteland War, but players using Xbox and Microsoft Store can't access them yet due to a certification delay. Similar to previous expansions, the Extinction and Wasteland War DLCs also add a dose of fresh content to Ark: Survival Ascended, ranging from new mechanical creatures to extensively customizable cars.
Being a remaster of 2017's Ark: Survival Evolved, Ark: Survival Ascended is an open-world survival game like the original but comes with upgraded graphics and various quality-of-life improvements. Since rolling out in 2023, the Studio Wildcard-developed title has been enhanced with several DLCs, with the latest of the bunch landing on December 20. While the Extinction update takes players to a Titan-infested post-apocalyptic Earth, the Wasteland War plunges players into a desolate world rampant with heavily customizable vehicles called BattleRigs. Despite currently being available on PlayStation and Steam, the arrival of the new DLCs on Microsoft-owned storefronts is still pending approval.
ARK: Survival Ascended - 17 Best Quality Of Life Mods
Those looking to enhance their ARK: Survival Ascended experience have plenty of mods available to choose from. Here are the best quality-of-life ones.
An official announcement on Ark: Survival Ascended's Twitter account revealed that Extinction Ascended and Bob's Tall Tales: Wasteland War had been delayed on "Microsoft platforms," as the update containing these DLCs was yet to "clear certification." It shared that the process was taking "4x longer" than usual and that Microsoft was "actively investigating" the issue which the devs didn't have "much insight" on. Notably, the latest incident isn't the first time the Ark: Survival Ascended studio has endured a certification delay.
Ark: Survival Ascended DLCs Face Delay on Microsoft Platforms
Justifying Studio Wildcard's decision to go ahead with the DLCs' launch on other available platforms, the Twitter announcement stated that the developer was "unable to hold back" the update due to its plan to ship "more patches post-release." However, to ensure Xbox users and certain Windows users weren't lagging behind compared to other players, the devs also revealed their decision to temporarily disable item and dino uploads in the Extinction DLC until all platforms were "in parity." Additionally, the post mentioned that new servers for the game were also expected to be live "shortly." Although the current certification hiccup affects the release of the new Ark: Survival Ascended DLCs on Microsoft platforms, the Ark developer has also run into a similar issue on PlayStation in the past.
Meanwhile, fans have been eager to learn more about the sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved, the Vin Diesel-starring Ark 2, which was first announced in 2020. After facing multiple delays, with the latest pushing Ark 2 into 2024-end, there still is no official word on when the game will eventually release. Whether fans will get a status update on that front in the coming days is anyone's guess right now.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- October 26, 2023
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Studio Wildcard
- Publisher(s)
- Studio Wildcard
WHERE TO PLAY
Respawn into a new dinosaur survival experience beyond your wildest dreams… as ARK is reimagined from the ground-up into the next-generation of videogame technology with Unreal Engine 5! You awake on a mysterious island, your senses overwhelmed by the blinding sunlight and brilliant colors bouncing off every surface around you, the azure waters of a verdant Island lapping at your bare feet. A deep roar echoes from the misty jungle, jolting you into action, and you stand up – not afraid, but intrigued. Are you ready to form a tribe, tame and breed hundreds of species of dinosaurs and other primeval creatures, explore, craft, build, and fight your way to the top of the food-chain? Your new world awaits… step through the looking-glass and join it!
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- ARK
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Open-World
