Free to Play ARK Spinoff Hits Major Player Milestone

Summary

• ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition achieved over 3 million downloads in its first three weeks.
• Despite mixed reviews, the game's popularity on iOS and Android continues to grow.
• 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 significant milestone, surpassing three million downloads within three weeks of its December 18, 2024 launch. This survival game, a spin-off of the 2017 title ARK: Survival Evolved, shares its universe but offers a distinct mobile experience.

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. The ARK franchise, owned by Studio Wildcard, has spawned several spin-offs, with ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, developed by Grove Street Games, being the latest addition to the mobile market. Available on iOS and Android, it offers players a familiar experience of 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. This launch significantly outperformed the 2018 mobile port of ARK: Survival Evolved, boasting a 100% increase in downloads. Grove Street Games confirmed ongoing development of additional content, including new 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 game's strong performance on the App Store and Google Play Store is further evidenced by its rising popularity rankings. At the time of writing, it holds the 24th position among adventure games on iOS and ranks 9th among top-grossing adventure games on Android. While user reviews are mixed, with a 3.9/5 rating (412 reviews) on the App Store and 3.6/5 (over 52,500 reviews) on the Google Play Store, this 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 major mobile platforms last month, ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition is slated for release on the Epic Games Store in 2025, expanding player access. Studio Wildcard recently unveiled an updated roadmap for ARK: Survival Ascended, outlining future content updates. Fans eagerly await further news regarding ARK 2, which unfortunately missed its projected late 2024 release window.