Free to Play ARK Spinoff Hits Major Player Milestone

Summary

• ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition achieved over 3 million downloads within its first three weeks.
• Despite mixed reviews, the game's popularity continues to grow on iOS and Android platforms.
• Grove Street Games plans to expand the game's content with new maps and features.

The free-to-play mobile game, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, celebrated a remarkable launch, surpassing three million downloads in just three weeks. Released on December 18, 2024, this survival game is a spin-off within the universe of 2017's ARK: Survival Evolved.

While initial critical reception was mixed, ARK: Survival Evolved itself enjoyed considerable success, exceeding one million downloads even before its official release. This popularity led to a remastered version, ARK: Survival Ascended, released in early access in 2023, boasting significant graphical improvements. Beyond the main titles, the Studio Wildcard IP has spawned several spin-offs, the latest being ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, developed by Grove Street Games for iOS and Android. This free-to-play title offers players a familiar experience: resource gathering, crafting, settlement building, dinosaur taming, and more, mirroring the core gameplay of its console counterparts.

On January 10, 2025, Snail Games, the publisher of ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, announced the game's impressive three-million-download milestone within its first three weeks. This launch significantly outperformed the 2018 mobile port of ARK: Survival Evolved, boasting a 100% increase in downloads. Snail Games also confirmed that Grove Street Games is actively developing new content, including maps like Ragnarok, Extinction, Genesis Part 1, and Genesis Part 2, to further enrich the dinosaur-filled world of ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition.

ARK Mobile Game Sees Promising Launch Stats, Marks Another Strong Release by the Developer

The strong download numbers on the App Store and Google Play Store demonstrate significant promise for ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, which continues to climb popularity charts. At the time of writing, the game holds the 24th position among adventure games on iOS and ranks 9th in the top-grossing adventure games category on Android. While user reviews are mixed, with a 3.9/5 rating (412 ratings) on the App Store and a 3.6/5 rating (over 52,500 ratings) on the Google Play Store, this launch represents another successful entry in the ARK franchise for Grove Street Games, following their work on the enhanced Nintendo Switch port of ARK: Survival Evolved in 2022.

Following its release on mobile platforms last month, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition is slated for release on the Epic Games Store in 2025, providing players with expanded platform choices. Recently, Studio Wildcard unveiled an updated roadmap for ARK: Survival Ascended, offering a glimpse into future content updates. Fans eagerly await further news regarding ARK 2, which unfortunately missed its projected late 2024 release window.