Studio Wildcard announces yet another delay for the Xbox launch of Ark: Survival Ascended

Ark: Survival Ascended reveal screenshots
(Image credit: Xbox, Studio Wildcard)

What you need to know

  • Ark: Survival Ascended is the remake of Ark: Survival Evolved, which debuted during an Xbox Partner Preview program in October.
  • ASA was scheduled to launch on November 14, but Studio Wildcard has announced that it will be delayed.
  • This is the second time the console release was delayed, as the game was originally delayed on consoles due to critical issues in its multiplayer component.
  • There is no definitive release date for ASA on Xbox and Windows PC, though Studio Wildcard has said they are still expecting it to be sometime this week.

The Xbox and Windows PC release of Ark: Survival Ascended hits another snag, this time due to the console certification process. Studio Wildcard shared on Twitter today that the game will no longer launch on the two platforms on Tuesday, November 14, as it has not yet completed Xbox certification. 

This is the second time the game has been delayed for Xbox and Windows PC players. Ark: Survival Ascended was revealed during an Xbox Partner Preview Showcase on October 25, and it was suspected that the game would launch on all platforms on that day. However, the trailer ended with a "coming soon" screen, instead. A second trailer later appeared on YouTube declaring that the game was already available on Steam, when it was not actually available at the time.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Ark: Survival Ascended appeared on Steam in the middle of the night. It was later revealed via a blog post on Survive the Ark that a critical issue pertaining to multiplayer PvP was discovered the night before launch. This led to a delay in the release for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 consoles.

On November 3, Studio Wildcard shared in a Community Crunch update that it was on track for a release of Ark: Survival Ascended for Xbox and Windows PC on November 14. The console release was supposed to be up-to-spec with the latest PC functionality currently available on Steam, and would launch directly with cross-play features turned on. 

With just hours left in the day on November 13, things have taken a turn. The potential release for Ark: Survival Ascended on Xbox and Windows PC no longer has an anticipated date. Studio Wildcard's tweet does state that it is expected to launch sometime this week, but fails to nail down anything that could be circled on a calendar. 

Cole Martin
Writer

Cole is the resident Call of Duty know-it-all and indie game enthusiast for Windows Central. She's a lifelong artist with two decades of experience in digital painting, and she will happily talk your ear off about budget pen displays.