Studio Wildcard is ending online service for ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Ultimate Survivor on Nintendo Switch on August 31, according to ComicBook.com. The report said the deadline was 48 hours away at the time of publication. Once the servers go offline, online parts of both games will be inaccessible, while single-player content will remain accessible.
More than one million players have used the two games on Nintendo Switch to date, according to the report. It is unknown how many Switch players, including Switch 2 users playing through backward compatibility, are still playing either title ahead of the shutdown.
What the two Switch versions include
ARK: Survival Evolved is the base game. ARK: Ultimate Survivor includes the base game along with the Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and Genesis Parts 1 & 2 expansions. Both games remain available on the Nintendo eShop because they include offline content, though their online multiplayer components are being removed with the service shutdown.
ARK: Survival Evolved came to Nintendo Switch in 2018. The game has not come to Nintendo Switch 2. A remaster, ARK: Survival Ascended, released in 2023 and has not come to either Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2.
Pricing and shutdown timing
- ARK: Survival Evolved is listed at $19.99 and is on sale for $4.99 through August 30.
- ARK: Ultimate Survivor is listed at $49.9 and is on sale for $12.49 through August 30.
- Included expansions in Ultimate Survivor are Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and Genesis Parts 1 & 2.
- Online service shutdown date for both Switch games is August 31.
What is known about the shutdown
Studio Wildcard did not provide a reason for ending service, according to ComicBook.com’s report. The report characterized the possible cost of maintaining the servers as a presumption rather than a stated explanation. The confirmed change is that online features will become inaccessible after the servers go offline, while single-player content will continue to be available.
