ARK: Survival Evolved Switch Servers Are Shutting Down After 1 Million Players

The official Nintendo Switch servers for ARK: Survival Evolved are shutting down on August 31, 2026. Studio Wildcard confirmed the closure after more than one million players used the Switch servers across the game's years on the platform.

The shutdown affects the official servers for both ARK: Survival Evolved and ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition. It does not make either version unplayable. Single-player and unofficial servers will remain available after the shutdown.

Studio Wildcard announced the shutdown in its Community Crunch 517 update on July 31. The developer said more than one million players had explored the Switch servers since the game first arrived on Nintendo's console.

ARK: Survival Evolved launched for Switch in 2018. Grove Street Games later rebuilt the Switch version, with ARK: Ultimate Survivor Edition following in 2022 and bringing the base game together with its expansion content.

Only the official Switch servers are shutting down on August 31. Studio Wildcard has not announced an extension or replacement for those official worlds.

Players will still be able to access single-player after the official servers close. Unofficial servers will also continue operating, preserving an online option for Switch players who want to continue playing with others.

The main loss is the official server network itself, including the progression and communities built on those specific worlds. Studio Wildcard has confirmed that single-player and unofficial servers will remain fully playable after August 31.