- Ark: Ultimate Mobile Edition is the new version of the hit survival title hitting mobile
- It's also releasing tomorrow, December 18th, on iOS and (hopefully) on Android
- Ark: Ultimate Mobile Edition features the original map and five expansion packs to boot
If you've been hankering for survival on a dinosaur-infested island, but feel like you've run through Ark: Survival Evolved too many times then you're in luck; because a brand-new edition is hitting mobile imminently. After being announced earlier this year we've now got a seemingly set release date for December 18th and a new name; Ark: Ultimate Mobile Edition.
For those who aren't familiar, Ark: Survival Evolved is one of the original releases that helped popularise the open-world survival genre in the wake of those like Minecraft. Since this was a time for new twists, Ark asked the simple question, "What if we added dinosaurs?"
So, Ark: Ultimate Mobile Edition sees you stranded on a dinosaur-infested tropical island, duking it out with both the local wildlife and other players. As you go from stone-age-level tools to wielding both powerful futuristic weaponry and your own cohort of trained dinosaurs, it's all-out warfare to rule this tropical paradise.
All this and t-rex too
"But-", you may be asking, "-what makes this version different?" Well, it's because you're not just getting the original Ark: Survival Evolved experience. You're also getting access to a whopping five new expansion packs with Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction and Genesis Parts 1 & 2.
Suffice it to say that's a hefty amount of content that porting developer Studio Wildcard says will equate to thousands of hours of new gameplay. Which I'd say is probably a pretty reasonable estimation all things considered. However, what kind of performance hit this new version will take and how it'll perform on older devices is yet to be seen.
However, assuming there aren't any more fundamental changes, we've still got plenty of guides to help you out if this is your first time jumping into Ark in any form. Check out Dave Aubrey's essential tips for surviving the island in Ark: Survival Evolved to ensure you're not a dino's lunch!
