ARK: Survival Evolved Mod Lets Players Hunt Pokemon
By Kyle Sledge 16 January 2017
The developer Studio Wildcard’s action-adventure title ARK: Survival Evolved gets a mod that allows players to hunt various types of Pokemon within the game.
While most fans of Studio Wildcards’ ARK: Survival Evolved would argue that the developer has put out loads of great content in the past several months, such as its addition of dragons to the game, it’s safe to say that there are lots of players out there creating mods to make the title even more interesting. As it happens, thanks to the modder known as Mystic Academy, fans of ARK: Survival Evolved can download and install a mod called “Pokemon Evolved” that changes creatures in the game into actual Pokemon that can be hunted.
Although Mystic Academy’s mod has become one of the most popular fan-made creations for ARK: Survival Evolved, it was recently hit with a with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claim to be taken down. However, the accusation has recently been lifted, thus allowing for the mod to be downloaded by fans of the action-adventure title once again.
When speaking with the outlet PC Gamer, Mystic Academy said that he thinks the original DMCA complaint came from another modder who happened to also be creating another Pokemon-themed mod for ARK: Survival Evolved. Should that actually be the issue, then neither Nintendo nor The Pokemon Company have gotten involved to have the mod pulled.
No matter the source for the takedown notice, at the present moment, ARK: Survival Evolved fans still are able to download and apply Mystic Academy’s mod for the game. The mod replaces all of the dinosaurs in action-adventure title with a cast of about 30 different Pokemon, including the likes of Alakazam and Rapidash.
According to Mystic Academy, all of the models and animations used for mod were taken directly from Pokemon X/Y, and the modder only made slight alterations when it was necessary in order for the mod to work properly. With that being the case, it’s not surprising that the mod has already received a DMCA notice.
As many gaming fans are likely aware, Nintendo often takes a cutthroat approach when it comes to intellectual property theft and copyright infringement, as many fan projects have been forced into cancellation thanks to the Big N’s complaints. Not too long ago, in fact, incredibly popular creations like Pokemon Uranium got shut down after multiple notices from Nintendo. Bearing all of this in mind, it’s highly likely that Mystic Academy’s Pokemon mod for ARK: Survival Evolved won’t be up for much longer.
ARK: Survival Evolved will leave Early Access and officially release for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One later in 2017.
