Powered by Unreal Engine 4, Ark: Survival Evolved takes on the survival genre with a unique blend of emergent multiplayer cooperation and competition.

In ARK: Survival Evolved, survivors wake up stranded, naked, freezing, and starving on a mysterious island where they must hunt, harvest, craft items, grow crops, and build shelters to survive in every biome. Survivors will tame, train, and ride more than 100 stunning dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, including gargantuan creatures on a scale never before seen in video games! In every available biome -- Jungle, Snow, Swamp, Redwood, and Desert -- you’ll be able to fly an armed Pteranodon squadron over the snow-capped mountains, race through a thick jungle with your pack of trained Raptors, tromp through a fortified enemy base with a convoy of gigantic Brontosaurus, or chase down prey on the back of a raging T-Rex.

Use cunning strategy and tactics to tame and ride the many dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the dynamic, persistent ecosystems across land, sea, air, and even underground. Build your character’s strengths and gain items, skills, and pet creatures using in-depth role-playing systems. Start a tribe with hundreds of other players to survive and dominate competing tribes...and ultimately discover the ARK’s true purpose.

Studio Wildcard have unleashed a wave of sci-fi-themed content for ARK: Survival Evolved today - end-game features that reward hard-working players with awesomely futuristic gear and guns.

The new TEK Tier content, launched in today's v254 update on Steam and coming in February to consoles, includes fantastic sci-fi weapons and gear; including powered armor suits, dino-mountable laser cannons, plasma rifles and much more. Players are invited to jump into ARK and get crafting ASAP so they can get their hands on these cool new tools of destruction!

ARK: Survival Evolved is discounted on Steam started today for its biggest sale ever - 67% off the main game and 51% off the Scorched Earth Expansion Pack.

Players wanting TEK Tier loot will need to gather the newly introduced Element resource, which is granted after successfully completing Boss Arenas. Each Boss now has 3 difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard) and after completing each level players are awarded with the TEK Knowledge engram, element and other general Boss Rewards. Collect the Element then use the TEK Replicator to craft all TEK items.

The TEK Tier for ARK will be implemented in multiple phases, Phase I coming today with awesome new element powered gear including: 

• TEK Helmet - Contains a built-in oxygen tank and three different type of vision: Sonar, which identifies tribes, allies, enemies and creatures, Night (see in the dark) and a combined Sonar/Night mode.
• TEK Boots - These boots let players scale vertical surfaces with ease, along with negating any falling damage.
• TEK Pants - Enable a super run that lets players speed through solid objects. Combined with the TEK Shirt, the pants allow for faster flight and a coo l superheroic stance.
• TEK Shirt - Jet Pack! Ever wanted to be Iron Man? Don this item then rocket upwards into space or hover above your enemies to better view the devastation you have wrought!
• TEK Gauntlets - Powerful super punch - smash your foes across the map with this powered up fisticuffs feature.
• TEK Rifle - Powered by Element, the rifle features a scope that can sync up with the TEK Helmet's vision modes for double the death dealing.
• TEK Rex Saddle - Mount lasers on your T-Rex. Yes...lasers...on...a...T-Rex
• TEK Replicator - Needed for crafting items from the TEK tier.
• TEK Transmitter -  This portable terminal functions similarly to an Obelisk, allowing players to transfer characters, creatures and items across the ARK.  

Four New Creatures are also added in ARK v254!

• Purlovia Maxima - Resembling a giant weasel, the Purlovia is a nasty sneak, burrowing underground so it can ambush unaware passers-by.
• Basilosaurus Solatiumfecit - One of the stranger water creatures is Basilosaurus, a powerful swimmer that is so adapted to life in the shallows, it has problems surviving in deep water. This hasn't kept tribes from taming these gentle creatures, as their warm-blooded nature means riders can be kept comfortable in both hot and cold climes. It's blubber is also valuable, as it can be processed into a highly efficient form of gasoline.
• Baryonyx Aquafulgur - Baryonyx has the distinction of being on the small end of the large predator tier, but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. It's an extremely fast swimmer, and can threaten most creatures on land and sea, which makes it an efficient killer. Taming a Baryonyx makes it even more dangerous!
• Ovis Aries - The Ovis has arrived in-game! This passive, stupid-tempered creature might be weak, but it's definitely useful, with wool that can be repeatedly sheared and re-grown, and the ability to produce tasty, wonderful, lamb chops. Its also makes for a fun, albeit slow, mount!

Other Features in the ARK v254 Patch

• New Weapon - Lance: Saddle up and prepare for medieval mounted mayhem with the arrival of this, the Jurassic Jouster's weapon of choice.
• New Mechanic: Hairstyles, Facial Hair, Hair Colouring and styling with real-time growing. Customize your avatars with awesome new beards and then watch them grow! Cut, dye and trim your hair as you go all out with your character design.
• 16 Additional Explorer Notes
• A ton of improvements for official mod The Center, and general game fixes!

KeyFeatures

• TAME, TRAIN, RIDE, and BREED DINOSAURS: Command the most amazing creatures from throughout Earth's biological history, with more than 100 dinosaurs and creatures planned for full launch. Use cunning strategy and tactics to tame and ride the many dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the dynamic, persistent ecosystems across land, sea, air, and even underground.
• CRAFT AND BUILD: Using any means necessary to survive, players will craft weapons, clothes, and items, and build shelters. Plant, harvest, build, level-up, and customize everything visually and functionally, including procedurally-generated RPG statistics for creatures, characters, resources, clothing, gear, and weapons both primitive and modern.
• DISCOVER: Explore a massive living ecosystem and find the means to survive, thrive, and possibly escape the ARK Island.
• TEAM UP TO SURVIVE: Start a tribe with dozens of other players in a large-scale multiplayer online first person environment to survive and dominate competing tribes...and to ultimately discover ARK’s true purpose.
• JOIN A TRIBE: The 'Tribe' system encourages cooperation, by supporting dynamic parties to share resources, XP, and re-spawn points. Other players are organizing rebel tribes to accumulate resources, experience, re-spawn points, and to construct sprawling villages and cities, with technology spanning the primitive stone-age to the modern electric-powered era and beyond. And they will fight to destroy anything they see as a threat.
• A LARGER UNIVERSE: Travel between Online ARKs to meet new players, face new threats, and discover new civilizations!