24 Hours Remain to Play Ark: Survival Ascended Free, Before Trial Ends
Ark: Survival Ascended launched in 2023 amid heavy backlash, starting with Studio Wildcard shutting down the original title’s servers to make room for a full, ground-up remake. On top of that, the game has struggled with the usual Unreal Engine 5 performance and optimization headaches, along with server reliability issues—factors that help explain why it’s currently sitting at “Mixed” user sentiment. If you were waiting to see whether the remake is actually worth your time, this is a great moment to jump in: it’s available for free on Steam until July 13 at 10am PT.
Key takeaways
- Ark: Survival Ascended is free on Steam until July 13 at 10am PT.
- The remake reached a 24-hour peak of 41,000 concurrent players this weekend.
- Your progress earned during the free window carries over if you decide to purchase the game.
- The download size is over 200GB, which remains a common complaint among players.
- Even after official shutdowns, the franchise still draws crowds, with Survival Evolved hitting a 24-hour peak of 28,000 players.
Free window details and the sale price
Any progress you make during the free promotional period will remain intact if you purchase Ark: Survival Ascended afterward. So if the remake clicks for you, you can buy it later and continue right where you left off rather than restarting from scratch.
To get the most out of the free offer, it’s worth downloading immediately—Ark: Survival Ascended is over 200GB, a file size that’s been another sticking point for many players. Once the free period ends, the remake stays on sale for $11.24 through July 23, which is being framed as one of its steepest discounts so far.
The original Ark loop (and what changed in the remake)
If you’re new to Ark, the pitch is simple: you wake up on a desert island completely naked, survive by punching trees, and eventually work toward higher-tier tech—like building up enough power and firepower to ride a T. Rex into combat while carrying an energy rifle. It’s often described as “Rust with dinosaurs,” with the gameplay centered on hunting for blueprints and pushing through the technology tree. The progression typically starts with basic gear such as stone tools and thatch shelters, then climbs toward electricity, firearms, and defensive options like turrets.
Ark: Survival Ascended is built completely on Unreal Engine 5, featuring a rebuilt approach to base construction and cross-platform mod support. However, Studio Wildcard’s changes also served as the foundation for paid modifications, which has been another controversial element of the remake’s release. Still, it isn’t all negative: the remake added wild dinosaur babies that are generally easier to tame, plus a handful of quality-of-life improvements such as item tracking and a ping system to make coordination and navigation less frustrating.
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Even with that context, many long-time fans will probably still hesitate before jumping into Survival Ascended, but the current free weekend is a low-risk way to test the remake for yourself. If you end up enjoying it, you can also go back to Survival Evolved—the original—since that game is on sale for $9.89 until July 23. Official servers for Survival Evolved were shut down permanently in 2023, yet the community keeps it alive: it’s still posting a 24-hour peak of 28,000 players thanks to community-run servers.
