In the explanation:
ASE: Ark Evolved is the current game
ASA: Ark Ascended is a new version of UE5

Last year, a fan put several maps and dinosaurs into UE5 as a showcase of what UE5 can do.

indicated by Ark, they will upgrade. It was announced in December as “free and updated from the current game”. He confirmed back in January that it would be free and there would be a transition from ASE to ASA.

The news is now simple:
-UE5 upgrade want to create a cross-platform / next generation, is not compatible with the current ASE.
The -UE5 version is only available for sale separately for PS5 (because you don’t get the ark2), you must purchase the ASA/Ark2 bundle.
– No working versions of ASA or Ark2, you really have to buy the game “blind”, worse than pre-order.

ASE will simply be shut down in August. In recent years, the community (in part due to the feud/covid/etc) has grown exponentially with over 10,000 people in the game, collecting and breeding dinosaurs for years. The servers will be shut down in August, and anyone who still wants to play can download or download the SP version of your current “official” (an MMO, so to speak). If you want to continue (or really start over) you have to purchase the ASA/Ark2 bundle and all the DLC again.

It’s fun for people who play solo or ad hoc hosted, but people are simply dropping “MMOs” into their game. The game has had some bugs, issues, and features for years, which weren’t magically fixed by the UE5 upgrade, not to mention that it will now do a full rebuild in less than 4 months.