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.
• 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 successful spin-offs. The latest, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, developed by Grove Street Games, is now available on iOS and Android. This free-to-play experience offers players the familiar ARK gameplay loop: resource gathering, crafting, base building, dinosaur taming, and more.

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, showing 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.

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 reflect the game's rising popularity. At the time of writing, it holds the 24th position in iOS adventure games and 9th in top-grossing Android adventure games. While user reviews are mixed (3.9/5 stars on the App Store based on 412 ratings and 3.6/5 stars on the Google Play Store with over 52,500 ratings), the launch represents another success for Grove Street Games, following their work on the improved 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, expanding player access. Recently, Studio Wildcard unveiled an updated roadmap for ARK: Survival Ascended, outlining upcoming content. Fans eagerly await further news on ARK 2, which unfortunately missed its projected 2024 release date.