PCGame

ARK: Survival Evolved

Open-world survival crafting with dinosaur taming and base building

Studio Wildcard, Instinct Games, Efecto Studios, Virtual Basement LLC · Published by Studio Wildcard, Snail Games USA · Released Aug 27, 2017

ActionAdventureIndieMassively MultiplayerRPG

Reviews
Very Positive
84% of 625K
Recent reviews
Very Positive
84% of 1,972 in 30 days
Players
13K
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Verified
Last update on Steam
9 months ago
Jan 16, 2026
Minimum PC
GTX 670
8 GB RAM · 60 GB disk
Full requirements

Metacritic: 70/100 (critic reviews)

What is ARK: Survival Evolved?

An open-world survival game set on a mysterious island where you gather resources, craft equipment, build shelters, grow crops, and manage hunger, thirst, and temperature. You can hunt, tame, ride, and breed dinosaurs while playing alone, cooperatively, or with other players, with escape as the broader goal.

For you if...

  • +you enjoy open-world survival, crafting, and base building
  • +you want to tame, ride, and breed dinosaurs
  • +you prefer playing survival sandboxes with friends

Not for you if...

  • −you dislike managing hunger, thirst, temperature, and inventory weight
  • −you prefer guided progression over open-ended sandbox play
  • −you dislike demanding survival systems and frequent setbacks

What players say

84% of 625,205 reviews are positive · 84% of 1,972 in the last 30 days

Players praise dinosaur taming and breeding, base building, exploration, and cooperative survival. Common complaints include crashes, longstanding bugs, instability, and very large storage requirements; players also say the Aquatica update broke mods, servers, settings, or saves, with several recommending the pre-Aquatica version.

Players over time

▲ +10% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 14,799 players on Sep 21, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 202613,208
Nov 6, 20269,143
Nov 5, 20269,363
Nov 4, 20269,820
Nov 3, 202610,245
Nov 2, 202610,825
Nov 1, 202614,526
Oct 31, 202613,394
Oct 30, 20269,471
Oct 29, 20269,048
Oct 28, 20269,013
Oct 27, 20269,520
Oct 26, 202610,022
Oct 25, 202613,918
Oct 24, 202611,718
Oct 23, 20269,022
Oct 22, 20269,285
Oct 21, 20269,323
Oct 20, 20269,551
Oct 19, 202610,313
Oct 18, 202612,785
Oct 17, 202611,836
Oct 16, 20269,131
Oct 15, 20269,144
Oct 14, 20269,162
Oct 13, 20269,620
Oct 12, 202610,432
Oct 11, 202612,245
Oct 10, 202610,455
Oct 9, 20268,858
Oct 8, 20268,707
Oct 7, 20269,294
Oct 6, 20269,677
Oct 5, 202610,636
Oct 4, 202612,222
Oct 3, 202611,322
Oct 2, 20269,406
Oct 1, 20269,628
Sep 30, 20268,901
Sep 29, 20269,427
Sep 28, 202610,029
Sep 27, 202612,165
Sep 26, 202611,788
Sep 25, 202610,108
Sep 24, 20269,158
Sep 23, 202610,796
Sep 23, 20268,984
Sep 22, 20269,307
Sep 21, 202614,799

How many players finish ARK: Survival Evolved?

4.7% of Steam players have unlocked «Gamma Ascension», the achievement for finishing the main story.

Share of everyone who owns the game on Steam, including those who barely played it. Updated weekly.

Screenshots and trailer

ARK: Survival Evolved screenshot 1

ARK: Survival Evolved system requirements

Minimum: GTX 670, 8 GB RAM, 60 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run ARK: Survival Evolved?

Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

OS
Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit versions)
Processor
Intel Core i5-2400/AMD FX-8320 or better
Graphics
NVIDIA GTX 670 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or better
Memory
8 GB RAM
Storage
60 GB available space
DirectX
Version 10
Notes
Requires broadband internet connection for multiplayer

Does ARK: Survival Evolved have co-op or multiplayer?

Yes: co-op (mode not specified); MMO. It also has a single-player mode.

Does ARK: Survival Evolved run on Steam Deck?

Verified Yes, Verified by Valve: it works on Steam Deck out of the box.

  • All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
  • Shows Steam Deck controller icons
  • In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
  • Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
  • External controllers are not supported for the primary player

PC version details

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Full controller support
Platforms
Windows, macOS
Achievements
32
Steam features
Workshop, Cloud saves, Family Sharing
Languages
Full audio: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Russian, Portuguese - Brazil, Simplified Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Finnish, Japanese, Korean.

Does ARK: Survival Evolved use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Nov 6, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

Recent updates

18 DLC available.

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