Available at some point today for Steam Early Access Studio Wildcard will release a free stand alone Multiplayer Online Survival Arena (M.O.S.A) called ARK: Survival of the Fittest that pits up to 72 combatants against one another within a closed battlefield. This game mode will also have an eSport element pushing players to become the top of their Survivor League. To say that this game is drawing inspiration from franchises like The Hunger Games would be an understatement but for anyone looking for that kind of game you're in for a treat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56SvsV6Pb6E
Jesse Rapczak, Co-founder and co-creative director at Studio Wildcard, had this to say about the release of ARK: Survival of the Fittest.
Following the success of the tournaments we hosted last fall, we saw valuable community feedback about other competitive features they wanted to see implemented, now with shorter matches, four new game modes, rapid dino taming and more, we felt it was time to let people come in to test it for themselves. Not only can you play for free, but we’re offering cash prizes for the top players in each Survivor League, so ARK survivors can potentially start playing their favorite game professionally!
As opposed to the regular ARK: Survival Evolved in SotF you will have a smaller area with a continually shrinking "ring of death", the purpose of this ring is to ensure that all the survivors are eventually pushed into a final battle in the center where only one tribe survives. Selecting between unranked and ranked servers players can be in tribes of between 1-6 other players. The ranking you receive will depend on how well you play and will update constantly as you play. At the moment the forest area is the only one available but more will be added in the future.
For the launch of the game and a Survival of the Fittest competitive initiative each month the top ten ranked players for each game mode will receive cash prizes. The features available on launch will be 30+ creatures to tame, multiple game modes (1v1, 2v2, 4v4, and 6v6), variable time configurations ranging from 30 minutes to three hours, tamable super creatures such as the Dragon and Giant Ape, and a custom soundtrack.
The game has been announced and will show up on the Steam storefront at some point. If you want more information on Studio Wildcard and ARK then be sure to check out their Website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Are you excited for ARK: Survival of the Fittest? Do you like the idea of this Hunger Games gametype coming for free? Are you going to pick the bow as your weapon of choice too? Share your thoughts in the comments below!