ARK: Survival Evolved developers Wildcard Studios announced today that the game's Ultimate Survivor Edition will be coming to Switch in September. This version includes the base games along with expansion packs: Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, and Genesis Parts 1 & 2. Though only the Scorched Earth expansion pack will be available at launch. It will also feature a new mode called the “Young Explorers” Mode: an educational mode intended to teach younger players about the real-world dinosaurs that inspired the game.

Additionally existing owners of the base game will receive a significant update that promises an overhaul to functionality, graphics, and optimization. Studio Wildcard has contracted with a yet unnamed third-party developer who is rewriting the entire ARK Switch code from the ground-up, developing it on the latest version of Unreal Engine 4. All existing Switch player progress and Save data will be maintained.

ARK's initial launch on Switch was often cited as being among the worst Switch ports the system had received. Our review gave it a 2.5/10 at launch.