ARK: Survival Ascended has brought back things that regular players of the dino survival sandbox are likely familiar with, but this time they’re in Unreal Engine 5. The game’s Christmas-themed Winter Wonderland holiday event and battle royale-like Survival of the Fittest mode are back once more, just in time to enjoy some prehistoric holiday cheer or prehistoric last person standing PvP.
The Winter Wonderland event is effectively an official mod by Studio Wildcard but works similarly to the event that was: Players can look forward to Raptor Claus flying overhead as he drops presents, mistletoe, and coal, which can then be used to craft a variety of seasonal cosmetics. Players can also get extra materials from either fighting, taming, or handing over presents to certain creatures, as well as enjoy some boosted earning rates. The event/mod is available from now until January 7th on all official ASA servers.
Meanwhile, the Survival of the Fittest mode is online and available in cross-platform play for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation players. Once again, this is effectively the same as the original mode, which challenges 60 players to fight it out to be the final survivor, though it also promises to be “re-evolved” with new redesigned mechanics. The mode is yet another official mod that’s available for both the Core and the Island maps.
Last but certainly not least – and while we all have mods on the brain – PC mods are now available for players on consoles, offering players on Xbox or PlayStation access to all sorts of things from weapons to creatures to whole new experiences. Some of these are being showcased by Wildcard once more in the video below.
