Ark: Survival Evolved s developer, Studio Wildcard, is being sued by Trendy Entertainment, developer of Dungeon Defenders, over allegations of breach of contract by a former employee of the latter. A rather exhaustive investigation has been put together over on Kotaku, but the main points being made are that Trendy alleges Jeremy Stieglitz, former game designer at the studio, went against his contract in soliciting Trendy employees, and that it has had a negative impact on Trendy as a whole, with the studio s Dungeon Defenders up against Ark both in terms of players and development talent. The gist of the complaint alleges that Stieglitz solicited employees for work on a new project outside of the studio, thus violating his non-compete clause. Said allegations point to the set up of Studio Wildcard and eventual development of Ark: Survival Evolved. The allegations also put Stieglitz as a core figure in Wildcard and Ark s development a position denied by the studio s employees, who have only gone so far as to say he consulted on Ark. Wildcard hasn t, at the time of writing, filed its response but its lawyers have released a statement reading thusly: Trendy s Complaint reads more like a salacious tabloid story

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ARK: Survival Evolved has spun off its Hunger-Gamesy Survival of the Fittest mod into a free standalone murderfest on Steam. And that's free in the old fashioned sense of the word—the announcement claims that there will be "no monetisation" but with the benefits of a fully supported game and cash prizes for the top 10 players in each of its four Survivor Leagues. From this we can assume that ARK is doing very well for itself indeed. For an Early Access game, Survival of the Fittest is making an astonishingly aggressive push into the world of esports. The trailer is patched together from casters' commentary and the free-for-all, two-player, four-player and six-player leagues will compete over a prize pool of $50,000. And fair play to it—lots of developers are toying with the Hunger Games formula but few are polished enough to have a shot at the big time. Survival of the Fittest invites anyone to have a go if they think they're hard enough.

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The more I think about its name, the more it makes sense to me that Ark is doing its darnedest to patch in every animal under the sun plus some extra ones that take its fancy. And the more I think about the latest addition to the menagerie, the worse an idea it seems to put beavers on a wooden boat. Castoroides are giant, rideable beavers. They can chew down and collect enormous volumes of wood like fluffy lumberjacks, but unique to the beaver, they can dam rivers, making territorial control that much easier. They're also handy amphibious mounts. Studio Wildcard is also trying to spice up player relationships. Handcuffs are now in-game, helping you keep prisoners compliant or just screw with new spawns you find out in the wild. Expect a new wave of sadistic videos to hit YouTube any moment now.

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Players of Ark: Survival Evolved will soon have the opportunity to learn more about those who came before them by way of Explorer Notes, the first of which was revealed yesterday. These notes will tell the stories of the island's previous inhabitants, and also reveal their ultimate fates. By studying their notes, learning through their experiences, and revealing the secrets they have discovered, you will be able to get closer to the heart of the mysteries surrounding the Ark, Studio Wildcard said. It added, with a winky-face, that not everyone can survive like on the Ark, which I'm guessing is a hint a to why you're now on the island, and your predecessors are not. The studio said it's also going to stop, at least for now, rolling out new Dino Dossiers so that it can focus on catching up on the backlog it's already built up. We also want to see how the game evolves with further additions, so we can finalize what our remaining batch of creatures (Basilosaurus anyone?) will be and what they ll bring to the Ark, it wrote. Don t worry though—we ll still have a content reveal every Monday! You'll notice that the first note, viewable up close below, is written in Chinese, which makes

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An all-new, almost-flying menace known as Phorusrhacidae rapidesultor has joined the strange realm of Ark: Survival Evolved. But don't worry about struggling with that tongue-twisting handle, because you can just call it the Terror Bird for short. The Terror Bird stands from eight to 12 feet tall, and while it can't actually fly, it is capable of high-speed sprints and brief leaps. It's aggressive but can be tamed, and its combination of fast ground-based travel and near-flight capabilities makes an excellent combat mount. It's also kind of goofy looking, which I like: Getting smoked by a T. rex is one thing, but taking a thumping at the hands (claws?) of an oversized dodo bird adds a layer of humiliation to the action that I consider a real selling point. The latest Ark update also includes the game-changing grappling hook tool that gives players the ability to climb sheer walls, snag objects, and drag (or be dragged by) creatures of various sorts, including those that fly. Tribal Alliances are now functional, enabling small Tribes to band together against larger ones in both PvP and PvE modes, and Coel fish now come in different sizes that provide differing amounts of resources. The Ark: Survival Evolved Terror Bird update—technically known as version 2235—is

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Studio Wildcard is dropping the New Year's Eve Ball in Ark: Survival Evolved, and when it touches down at midnight EST, everyone at the party will be given a fantastic surprise. But the real fun is the addition of a new creature called the Procoptodon, which is essentially a huge, prehistoric kangaroo with a gun in its pocket and look of perpetual annoyance on its face. The largest of the real Procoptodon, according to Wikipedia, was P. goliah, which stood well over six feet tell and could weigh more than 500 pounds. The Ark version is even larger, capable of rapidly covering great heights and distances while carrying two passengers, one of whom—the one in the pouch, naturally—can make full use of all weapons while on the move. It's basically a drive-by-capable mega-marsupial, which as videogame ideas go isn't the worst I've ever heard. The update also adds a new Tribe Alliances option to the game, enabling multiple tribes to officially band together to take on larger, more powerful outfits. Full details on the update (although between the dropping ball and the dino-roo, we've pretty much covered it all) are available on

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