You have until June 19
In case you missed it, Ark 2 was shown over the weekend at the Microsoft conference. But before that actually arrives sometime in 2023, there’s a free Ark (the original) promo going on over on Steam. It typically goes for $29.99 on the platform.
As usual, the standard provisos apply. The team could cut off the offer as it runs until “supplies last,” though it’s not particularly common for this to happen. Also, you don’t get Steam trading cards via free games like this. Note that there is a cutoff time! You have until June 19 at 10:00AM PT to click “own.” Just go log in and do it here in browser form!
After you pick the game up, there’s a decent chunk of free and paid stuff to grab. Beyond the $29.99 season pass (which is on sale for $23.99 at the moment), there’s also several expansion maps that you can pick up for free, including “Lost Island, Valguero, The Center, and Crystal Isles and Ragnarok” variations. A “Primitive Plus” total conversion mod is also free, which is intriguing in and of itself: “Primitive Plus is a free add-on for ARK: Survival Evolved that alters the available tools, weapons and structures in the game to reflect what humans could realistically create using primitive technology and resources. This does not simply remove advanced technology from ARK, but instead replaces it with a multitude of new resources, engrams and systems.”
While Ark might not be for everyone (and the survival genre is sure to scare off droves of people on principle), you could spend an entire weekend diving into this game before realizing you don’t even like it.
