Is ARK: Survival Ascended Available on Xbox Game Pass?

ARK: Survival Ascended brought ARK: Survival Evolved into a newer package for modern platforms, but that does not automatically mean it joined Microsoft's subscription library. Game Pass access is a separate question.

Is ARK: Survival Ascended on Game Pass?

ARK: Survival Ascended is not on Game Pass at the time of writing. Players who want the game still need to buy it separately. However, Xbox players need a Game Pass subscription for online multiplayer, so the service can still matter even though the game itself is not included in the catalog.

It is not clear whether ARK: Survival Ascended will be added to Game Pass later. One possible factor is the cost of getting ARK titles onto the service. A September 2022 SEC filing showed that Microsoft paid Studio Wildcard $2.5 million to keep ARK: Survival Evolved on Game Pass for the first half of that year. The same filing also stated that Microsoft paid $2.3 million to bring ARK 2 to Game Pass when that game releases.

Those prior agreements may explain why Survival Ascended was not automatically folded into the subscription. Server compatibility may also complicate things. ARK: Survival Evolved servers have platform restrictions, with Steam, Epic Games, and similar PC versions separated from console and Microsoft Store versions. If Survival Ascended faces similar compatibility concerns, adding it cleanly to Game Pass is not as simple as pressing the giant subscription button.