Modding platform CurseForge has teamed up with Hasbro - yes, actual Hasbro - for an official Ark: Survival Ascended Power Rangers mod. I promise I'm not making this up.
The mod brings the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers squad into the game, as well as their weapons and Zords. It's launching later today and is a "premium" mod, which means you'll have to pay for it.
Just in case you're wondering, you haven't read this story wrong; this is a mod project rather than an official collaboration between Hasbro and Studio Wildcard or publisher Snail Games, neither of whom appear to be involved.
Ark x Power Rangers is a collaborative project between Hasbro, CurseForge, and a user-generated content studio called Look North World, which also works with Fortnite's UEFN editor. Said studio was brought onto the project in order to "ensure brand integrity", according to a press release.
Although Snail Games and Studio Wildcard don't seem to have been involved in the creation of the mod, the studios did announce Ark x Power Rangers on the Survival Ascended Steam page, so they're seemingly endorsing it at the very least.
In total, the mod will offer unique skins, emotes, weapons, and Zords for five Rangers: Red, Blue, Pink, Yellow, and Black. Sadly, the Green Ranger is nowhere to be seen. What's with this Tommy erasure, Ark?
You can check out the debut trailer for this rather strange Ark: Survival Ascended Power Rangers mod right here.
Along with announcing the mod, Studio Wildcard and Snail Games also took the opportunity to reveal Club ARK, a "new social hub" in which Survival Ascended players can hang out with their friends, take part in minigames, and even duel other Ark players.
I'm not entirely sure what's going on in the world of Ark: Survival Ascended, but judging by the aforementioned mod and Club ARK, it kind of seems like the answer is "everything". Here's the trailer for Club ARK, in case you're looking for a new metaverse hangout spot for you and your friends.
Ark: Survival Ascended is available right now in Early Access for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
It's a reworked version of Ark: Survival Evolved that's built in Unreal Engine 5, so you can expect higher visual fidelity than in the original game, plus quality-of-life improvements and access to all of Survival Evolved's extra worlds as and when they become available.
Stay tuned for more on this one.
