The originally well-received dinosaur + survival game "ARK: Survival Evolution" has recently surged thousands of bad reviews on Steam, because the official announcement will launch a next-gen version, old players have to pay again to upgrade, and the original "ARK: Survival Evolution" will be closed in August.
Ark: Survival Evolved added thousands of bad reviews to Steam
After a large number of players complained, the official now released a new announcement, first they canceled the next generation version and "Ark 2" bundle, "Ark 1" next-gen version (called "Ark: Survival Upgrade") will be sold separately for $59.99, some of which will be slowly updated. Second, they explain why they can't be backwards compatible and release free next-gen upgrades.
Officially: They didn't plan to introduce new technologies and new mechanisms, they just wanted to upgrade simply, so they said free upgrades at the beginning. But then they found that doing so wouldn't allow players to enjoy ARK long into the future. In order to keep the game with a longer life cycle, they introduced many new technologies to bring Ark 1 on par with Ark 2. These changes touch on all aspects of the game and are not compatible with the original ARK Survival Evolved: save games will be invalidated, some mods will be scrapped, and some mechanics will change. In order to take care of players who are not willing to upgrade, the official decided to launch a separate next-gen version instead of upgrading on the original. As for the official server of the game, it also requires too much manpower to maintain because of backward technology, which is better used in other ways. To do this, they will shut down the official server.
Before closing, ARK: Survival Evolved will release a little update
However, the original version of ARK: Survival Upgrade can still be played, you can continue to play the private server established by the player, you can experience a large number of mods, and the game content will not change at all. In order to keep the game alive for a long time to come, they will launch a next-gen version of ARK: Survival Upgrade, and will continue to provide it with updates and new content in the future, such as the introduction of photo mode, new AI pathfinding, DLSS, better dinosaur management, wild cubs, better pinching system, cross-platform play, and more.
To sum up: ARK: Survival Evolved can continue to be played in the future, but the official server will be closed and you can only play private servers. The next-gen version of ARK: Survival Upgrade is available for an additional fee, and it's still the playable content of ARK: Survival Evolution, but the gameplay and experience will be improved, and new content will continue to be introduced in the future. In addition, the sequel "Ark 2" will no longer be bundled with "ARK: Survival Upgrade".