Free Steam Weekend Begins with Content Drop, Price Reduction

If you've been sitting on the fence about whether or not to purchase ARK: Survival Evolved, this weekend is right up your alley. Starting today, players can take part in a free weekend starting today and running through Sunday, July 31st. To celebrate, a big new content drop landed on servers that adds the Primitive+ player-created mod to the game along with new creatures, a new fishing rod and mechanic, and the usual bug fixes and feature enhancements.

Newly available as part of the ‘ARK Official Mods Program’ today, Primitive+ is a functionality mod playable on all official ARK maps that challenges players to use only weapons and tools using wood and stone, without the benefit of advanced metals to create weapons such as guns. It's a whole new set of items and detailed mechanics focused on 'primitive' survival, which fits snugly in the world of ARK.

The Center, a massive free DLC map that was first released in May 2016, expanded today to include new biomes, islands, caves, and creature spawns. The Center was created by modder Ben Burkart as part of the ‘ARK Official Mods Program’ and complements the current biomes with a rich, hand-drawn Tolkien-esque aesthetic. The Center’s massive map doubles the in-game playable geography of the already enormous ARK landscape making it 70 sq. kilometers filled with stunning lighting effects, lava rivers, giant picturesque mountains, misty floating islands, ancient underground ice caves, and more.

Learn more by visiting the ARK: Survival Evolved site.