Ark: Survival Evolved is bringing online dinosaur survival to iOS and Android "this spring"
Closed beta launches on iOS today.
Studio Wildcard has announced that its enormously popular dinosaur survival game Ark: Survival Evolved is making its way to iOS and Android mobile devices "this spring".
Ark mobile is being developed by War Drum Studios - the team responsible for Rockstar's Bully and Grand Theft Auto mobile ports - and will include a single-player mode, as well as Ark's "full" persistent online multiplayer dinosaur survival experience.
In fact, glancing down the feature list, the mobile version looks to be surprisingly in line with its PC and console brethren. It features Ark's familiar levelling, crafting, and building systems, enabling you to construct everything from clothing and weapons to elaborate bases, as well as over 80 creatures to tame and exploit while surviving the perils of Ark's classic island map.
Additionally, Ark's tribe system is in - meaning you'll able to buddy up with other survivors in order to establish a stronghold, expand, and exterminate your opponents - and the mobile version's online multiplayer servers will support up to 50 simultaneous players, although there's no indication whether PvE will be offered alongside PvP.
Inevitably, there's a notable visual downgrade compared to the console and PC versions - albeit one that remains surprisingly authentic to the full experience. Squeezing Ark's notoriously demanding frame onto mobile is certainly impressive though, and it'll be interesting to see just how close this portable version comes to the real thing on release.
Ark mobile will be a free-to-play title, unlike the full-price original, so it'll be equally interesting to see how it handles monetisation, and if it can avoid the perils of play-to-win.
As it happens, we likely won't have long to wait in order to get a clearer picture of Ark in its latest, portable form. War Drum is launching the game in closed beta on iOS today, with a full iOS and Android release scheduled for later this spring. To be in with a chance of joining the beta, you can sign up on the official Ark mobile website now.