← BACK TO THE NEWSNEWS · 26 September 2026

ARK: Survival Ascended – Unreal Engine 5.8 Update

ARK: Survival Ascended is set to receive a major upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.8 at the end of October. The switch may have a temporary impact, particularly on mod servers.

ARK: Survival Ascended – Unreal Engine 5.8 Update

Survivors,

Studio Wildcard has announced the current timetable for the major Unreal Engine 5.8 upgrade for ARK: Survival Ascended.

Important dates

30 September 2026
The planned ARK update is still due to be released. Among other things, it will feature Cerberax, Gargantar and the Therizinosaurus TLC.

5 October 2026
The public Unreal Engine 5.8 test is launching via the Steam Public Test Realm (PTR).

At the same time, work is beginning on the new DevKit, and the existing mods are being reworked for Unreal Engine 5.8.

28 October 2026
ARK: Survival Ascended will be officially updated to Unreal Engine 5.8 on all platforms.

What does this mean for the Dark Master Cluster?

As our cluster uses various mods, such a major engine update may affect individual mods and servers.

Possible options include, amongst others:

Mod updates or re-downloads
Temporary mod incompatibilities
longer update or installation times
short-notice maintenance work on the cluster
Further updates to individual mods following the UE5.8 release

We will monitor the mods and servers used in connection with the update and make any necessary adjustments.

Important

Please bear with us around 28 October if the servers are not immediately available again following the ARK update.

We will not start any servers unnecessarily whilst important mods have not yet been fully updated or made compatible. The security of save files and a stable cluster are our top priorities.

Further information and updates will follow as soon as we know more about the exact procedure.

Dark Master Cluster
https://www.darkmastercluster.de
https://discord.gg/Uf98tycvyk