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Library/Game/ARK: Survival Evolved
Grade B14 sourcesHIS-00429

ARK: Survival Evolved

Game · 2015 · Notable

53Editable slideCertificate

ARK: Survival Evolved sold more than 400,000 copies in its first week of Early Access.

Original · Studio Wildcard
ARK: Survival Evolved Announcement Trailer
ARK: Survival Ascended on YouTube
ARK: Survival Evolved
Wikipedia (non-free, fair use)
ARK Digest - Issue 5! :: ARK: Survival Evolved Announcements
Studio Wildcard / Jat on Steam Community
How ARK blindsided the industry to gain more Steam players than GTA 5
PCGamesN
Ark: Survival Evolved
PC Gamer

Spread Score

How it works
Reach69ContagionNo data yetBreadth40Velocity0Longevity9253

Numbers

All-time peak concurrent players on Steam (June 2022)
248.4K
As of Jun 19, 2022 · SteamDB
Peak date
Jun 2015
Jun 2 ’15 to Jun 2015
Platforms
4
Started on Open web
Origin
Seeded
Gaming

Mechanics

  • Platform jumpPrimary
  • Controversy

How it spread

Trace the origin

Studio Wildcard announced ARK with a YouTube trailer on May 11, 2015, and opened Steam Early Access on June 2. It sold over 400,000 copies in the first week and one million in under a month, and debuted fifth on Twitch's June ranking.

Dates use the stated precision; chart positions are date anchors.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesJan ’15JunAugMar ’16SepMay ’17Sep ’18Jun ’20Mar ’22Aug ’23Dec ’24PeakYouTubePressTwitchOpen web
YouTubePressTwitchOpen web

14 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (17)

  1. May 2015

    Studio Wildcard precursor · May 11 ’15

    Studio Wildcard announced ARK for Steam and consoles and posted its trailer, which named a June 2 launch.[1][2]

    ARK: Survival Evolved Announcement Trailer
    Open the first post ↗
  2. GameSpot precursor · May 11 ’15

    GameSpot covered the announcement of the open-world dinosaur game the same day.[3]

  3. Jesse Rapczak / Lirik precursor · May 13 ’15

    By May 13, Studio Wildcard had linked Jesse Rapczak's interview with Twitch streamer Lirik.[2]

Changelogupdated Oct 16 ’26
  1. 2026-10-16Added 1 number
  2. 2026-10-15Score 46 → 53 · Fact-check passed (35 claims)
  3. 2026-10-13Added: 17 events, 14 sources · Score 46
Origin
Seeded
Sector
Gaming
Region
Global
All-time peak concurrent players on Steam (June 2022)
248.4K
As of Jun 19, 2022 · SteamDB
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

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Current official Google Play store artwork showing the Pokémon capture screen.

$894M revenue

Phasmophobia

Open web · 2020

70
Phasmophobia on Steam

30M sold

Steal a Brainrot

Open web · 2025

69
Steal a Brainrot — Story Kitchen

Fortnite Battle Royale

Open web · 2017

66
Fortnite Battle Royale Launches September 26

$5B revenue

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Wikipedia views · Google searchesJan ’15JunAugMar ’16SepMay ’17Sep ’18Jun ’20Mar ’22Aug ’23Dec ’24PeakYouTubePressTwitchOpen web
YouTubePressTwitchOpen web

14 more events on this chart

Join free to see them
  1. May 2015

    Studio Wildcard precursor · May 11 ’15

    Studio Wildcard announced ARK for Steam and consoles and posted its trailer, which named a June 2 launch.[1][2]

    ARK: Survival Evolved Announcement Trailer
    Open the first post ↗
  2. GameSpot precursor · May 11 ’15

    GameSpot covered the announcement of the open-world dinosaur game the same day.[3]

  3. Jesse Rapczak / Lirik precursor · May 13 ’15

    By May 13, Studio Wildcard had linked Jesse Rapczak's interview with Twitch streamer Lirik.[2]

  1. seed · Jun 2 ’15

  2. platform jump · Jun 2 ’15

Join free to see the other 14 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

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