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Ark: Survival Evolved

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Play OverviewPlay Overview

Ark: Survival Evolved (2016) is an adventure simulation game that offers hunting-and-harvesting gameplay in a primal setting. Although not as polished or streamlined as a game like Horizon Zero Dawn, this is a more ambitiously open world where you can choose your own way to survive. With crafting and building, like Minecraft but with realistic visuals, this is a game where you step into your own monster movie.

Our examiner, Jo Robertson, first checked Ark: Survival Evolved 4 years ago. It was re-examined by Thom Robertson and updated 7 weeks ago.
Kids not old enough for this yet? There are lots of games similar to Ark: Survival Evolved. Here are some similar younger-rated games:

Play StylePlay Style

This is an Adventure and Simulation game with Action, Collecting, Fighting and Traversal elements. You can play with 1 to 2 players in the same room or as a 70-player online game. Multiplayer allows you to form tribes of members in a server. The max number of tribe mates varies from each server. In this way, you can play competitively with up to 70 other players and cooperatively in teams of up to 4. There's a split-screen mode for two players on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 by creating a local server.

Cross-Platform: You can play people on different systems: PC and Xbox One.

 
You can play this game in the following styles:

DurationDuration

We haven't documented duration data for this game yet.

Age RatingsAge Ratings

Content Rating

Rated PEGI 16 for Violence. Violence consists of you fabricating a variety of weapons from pointy sticks to rocket launchers and using them against enemy humans and dinosaurs. Physical responses vary from minor to realistic but blood is shown and bodies remain until they’ve been harvested for parts or decompose.
 
Users Interact: The game enables players to interact and communicate with each other, so may expose players to language usually associated with older rated games.

Rated for younger players in the US. Rated ESRB TEEN for Use of Alcohol, Crude Humor, Blood, Violence.
Rated 12+ on the Apple App Store for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes and Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence.

Skill Level

10+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. Still, it's important for parents and guardians to consider the maturity required to process the game content. It's also important to ensure children understand in-game purchases and have spending limits set-up. This is a tough game in survival mode. Younger players can enjoy it more in creative. Either way, you need to be able to collect and plan your use of resources and defend yourself from creatures and other players (if playing online).

Account Rating

Account required for online play that has 13 years old as minimum age.
  • You need be 18-years-old to to subscribe to Xbox Live Gold for online play, but can then configure family accounts for younger players to play online with Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S.
  • You need be 18-years-old to subscribe to Nintendo Online, but can then create accounts for children of any age to play online with Nintendo Switch.
  • You need be 18-years-old to subscribe to PlayStation Plus for online play, but can create sub-accounts for younger players of 7-years or older to play online with PlayStation 4.

CostsCosts

Ark: Survival Evolved usually costs £0 to £17.99. 

Ark: Survival Evolved

XBox Store Xbox X|S £12.49
XBox Store Xbox One £12.49
PlayStation Store PS4 £12.99
Switch Store Switch £17.99
Steam Store PC £12.79
Steam Store Mac £12.79
Android Store Android Free
App Store iOS Free
This game is free to play, but there are other costs associated with this game:
  • In-Game Purchases: Additional in-game purchases are offered for items that enhance the experience.
  • In-Game Pass: Purchase a season/battle pass to gain access to limited in-game purchases, reward items and other aspects of the game.
  • You need a subscription to play online:
    • You need to purchase a Nintendo Online subscription to play online with Nintendo Switch.
    • You need to purchase a PlayStation Plus subscription to play online with PlayStation 4.
    • You need to purchase a Xbox Live Gold subscription to play online with Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S.
 
You can purchase Scorched Earth and Aberration expansions to add maps, creatures and hazards. The third expansion, Extinction, is available through a battle pass.
  • Scorched Earth expansion pack
  • Aberration Aberration expansion pack
  • Extinction expansion pack
  • The Center map
  • Ragnarok map
  • Valguero map
  • Crystal Isles map 
 
It's important to set up your accounts and devices appropriately. More information is on our Financial Resources page.
 

DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 06/12/2016, updated in 2018

Out Now: Android, Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X|S and iOS

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Players: 1-2 (70 online)

Genres: Adventure, Simulation (Action, Collecting, Fighting and Traversal)

Accessibility: 24 features

Components: 3D First-Person, Day and Night, Open World and Persistant World

Developer: Survivetheark (@Survivetheark)


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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