Ark: Survival Evolved's next paid-for expansion Aberration finally has a release date
December spawned a monster.
Studio Wildcard has announced that Ark: Survival Evolved's next full-scale, paid-for expansion Aberration will release on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 on December 12th.
Aberration, which was originally slated to release in October, is the second paid-for expansion to come to Ark, following last year's desert-themed Scorched Earth.
Its main feature is a new, horror-tinged map, set on an inhospitable, malfunctioning Ark - which, for those not in the know, are basically [MILD SPOILER] giant, floating space zoos run by some very naughty aliens [/MILD SPOILER].
Setting it apart from other Ark maps, Aberration's radioactive, earthquake-ravaged surface isn't home to much of anything that isn't likely to cause you serious harm. Instead, its most interesting sights are found among its gloomy, labyrinthine underground caves and tunnels.
There's the fairly adorable Lantern Pug, for instance, or - if you fancy taming something with a little more practical use - the gliding Rock Drake, and the fearsome Reaper Queen, which will happily impregnate your friends with a cheery chest-burster.
Elsewhere, the expansion offers over 50 new craftable items, including cave-climbing picks, wingsuits, ziplines, hazmat outfits, explosive rounds, fishing baskets, and glow sticks.
Come December 12th, Aberration will be available as a standalone purchase or as part of Ark's three-map season pass. To entice you into a buy, Wildcard has announced a variety of (slightly inconsistent) Black Friday discounts across all platforms:
Steam/PC
- ARK: Survival Evolved - 50% off
- ARK Season Pass - 25% off
Xbox One (includes Xbox One X enhancements)
- ARK: Survival Evolved - 25% off
- ARK: Scorched Earth - 35% off
- ARK Explorers Edition (base + Season Pass) - 30% off
- ARK Season Pass - 25% off
PlayStation 4
- ARK: Survival Evolved - 35% off
- ARK: Scorched Earth - 35% off
- ARK Explorers Edition (base + Season Pass) - 30% off
- ARK Season Pass - 25% off
If nothing else, Aberration should prove marginally less controversial than its predecessor Scorched Earth, by virtue of it not being a paid-for expansion developed and released in the middle of early access, when everyone was expecting Wildcard to finish the main game.