Ark: Survival Evolved will leave Early Access next week on release date August 29, but while developer Studio Wildcard had previously said that they wouldn't be shutting down servers, instead moving them to Legacy servers, there are a few low-population servers on the kill list. Check down below for the kill list, what to do about it, and how to handle Legacy Servers and The Great Migration, as it's being called.
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The exact server name kill list for PC can be found on the Ark forums right here. It's rather long so take your time to check. If you're on it, the next step is easy: panic!
What to do if you're on the Server Kill List
Go to the Obelisk terminal, any supply drops, or the Tek Transmitter and use them to move your items, creatures, and player to another server not on the kill list. It goes without saying but do this as quickly as you can. We're not sure if it's changed but previously belongings only remained on the Obelisk terminal for 24 hours, so just... move.
Why are they shutting down servers?
As the game leaves Early Access a bunch of brand new servers will come online for new players, so they have to make some space because of cost. The Kill List only contains servers with a sustained low player count, although it makes up around 33% of current servers. The alternative was to wipe all the Early Access servers and start fresh, so this is clearly preferable.
So what's happening with these Legacy Servers?
"Legacy Servers" are what Studio Wildcard are calling all the Early Access servers. They'll be still available after launch day and players can keep playing, and will get all the new content the developer introduces. However they will not be supported through Customer Support which is a bit of a big catch. And yes, there could be more servers added to the kill list as times goes on, although the developers assures us that they'll only kill servers without players on them.
So can I move my belongings to one of the new customer-supported servers instead?
'Fraid not. The new servers are entirely for new players or people who want to start fresh. The whole point of making new servers for launch is to not scare off new players who have been waiting for the game to leave Early Access to buy Ark, so having players with years worth of high-level gear and dinosaurs swarming on to a PvP server wouldn't be very accommodating.
For more information and Xbox and PS4 server kill lists head over here at ark.gg/migration where the developer will give you more specific information. They also had this to say:
"To those affected by the move, we apologize greatly. This moving process will not be easy, but it is a necessary step towards our official launch. We have learned a lot throughout our Early Access adventures. Throughout our ups and downs, you’ve stood by our side and continued to support us during our growing pains and mess ups which is why we wanted our players to have the ability to keep as much progress as they can while still moving forward with a plan that will improve the game overall. We are committed to monitoring the health of this new cluster with our new ddos mitigation and changes to the transfer system (both of which will also be present on the Legacy servers), which will no doubt improve the official online playing environment.
We look forward to fostering a fair and fun community with the beginning of our brand new ARK cluster on launch day. We very much appreciate your support of ARK through its Early Access process."
Ark: Survival Evolved will launch on August 29. Be prepared.
