Summary
Ark: Survival Ascendedand the development team behind the game, Studio Wildcard, are certainly not strangers to controversy over the years. Regardless, the wild popularity of the game has spawned a massive following and even led to the creation ofArk: The Animated Serieson Amazon Prime Video. WithASAin full swing and the studio releasing the additional maps and content that was inASE, one lesser-talked-about controversy might finally suck up the last bit of goodwill the company has with its own community.
Indeed, with its latest introduction on Xbox Game Pass, it’s likely many don’t even know the more intimate community details, like the fact thatsome creatures were actually created by community members and submitted as part of a competition. Called the Community Creature Vote, Studio Wildcard lets players submit their ideas for creatures, with the winning design making it into the game. In 2023, in a hotly contested race, Yi Ling, aflyingArktame, was the sixth Creature Vote winner and was introduced inAberration. This controversy, however, deals with a losing submission — Maevia Eureka, the jumping spider.
10 Biggest Differences Between Ark: Survival Ascended & Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Ascended is a graphical revamp of Survival Evolved using UE5, but questions of what else has changed are worth exploring.
Paid DLC’s Shoulder Pet Is Heavily “Inspired” By Community Creation
Cosmo Looks Suspiciously Like Maevia Eureka
Maevia Eureka, the colorful neon jumping spider, was submitted in 2023 and was created bySoviraon the Ark forums. Along with some beautiful artwork and stats, a full encyclopedia page was built for the new creature. However, what may be surprising is justhow similar it looks toArk: Survival Ascended’s brand-new shoulder pet, Cosmo, as part of theBob’s Tall Talespaid DLC, set to release along with the release ofAberration.
10 Biggest Ark: Survival Ascended Scorched Earth Changes, New Dinos & Differences
There are a ton of changes that have come to Scorched Earth in ASA, some of which will change the game forever and make it worth revisiting.
Although not a direct 1:1 copy, the bright neon coloring would indicate that the design created by Sovira at least loosely inspired the team at Studio Wildcard.Sovriathemselves expressed their disappointment at the release of Cosmo, stating on the Ark forums,
“I want to say the truth here, how I genuinely feel about this… I’m hurt, and I’m honestly exhausted with trying to put on this fake happy face to make everything seem like it’s perfectly fine when it’s not, deep down it doesn’t feel right that a creature I had dreamed of seeing in my absolute favorite game of all times one day, now has a small shoulder version of it that has no reference , mention, or anything to denote the obvious inspiration behind it.”
It’s obvious that the creator of Maevia is convinced that their spider is now in the game, albeit tied to a paid DLC that is notoriously unpopular to players and in a lesser form.
Ark: Survival Ascended DLC Roadmap - All Planned Expansions & Updates
Ark: Survival Ascended is a remastered Survival Evolved in Unreal Engine 5, and is expected to gradually include all of the original’s DLC expansions.
The Issue With Cosmo
There Wasn’t A Prize, So Why Does It Matter?
In addition to taking away any credit and changing the creature’s name entirely, the fact that Cosmo is included in a paid DLC when previously Maevia was part of a free expansion is one of the pain points for the creator. In a later post, they go on to say, “was it okay to use your fans, when they’ve poured so much work into something that originally would’ve been free or not there at all, take that very work and make it into your own altered version… and throw it back in their faces with a price tag attached to it.”
In addition to the price tag associated with the creature’s DLC, the fact that it was downgraded to a shoulder-light pet (which creates its own unique problem) is another disappointing turn for the jumping spider.
Bob’s Tall Taleshas seen similar backlash due to the paid nature of the DLC, as the company promised that additional content fromASEwould be free inASA. And while they aren’t technically lying, as the DLC is entirely “new” content,it’s obvious why some may feel perturbedby the studio’s more recent moves, especially those playingASAas a holdover forArk 2. Although Sovria admits that what the company did was “entirely legal,” it’s still somewhat baffling and may prevent future creators from submitting their own content, or else it may be used in a way they didn’t intend.
Indeed, Studio Wildcard and their parent company, Snail Games USA, have been facing serious issues as of late, as theirstock price has languished around 81 cents, shy of the $1 minimum required to keep them listed on the Nasdaq. Though they’re pulling out all the stops with amildly receivedPower Rangerscrossover, other decisions like the pannedBob’s Tall Talescould be signals for things to come. This latest move essentially rebrands or at least is heavily inspired by a losing submission, and repurposing it for a paid DLC is a move that won’t be looked at positively by the community.
