Did ARK-Studio Wildcard try to bribe us with a sheep for the Steam Awards?
Yesterday, there was a huge outcry in the Steam community regarding a sheep in ARK: Survival Evolved. Studio Wildcard was accused of corruption. It is important to note that voting for the Steam Awards has been open since December 22. Steam games are nominated for various categories, and the community can vote to decide which game wins each category.
ARK: Survival Evolved has also been nominated. Today, on December 29, starting at 7:00 PM, you can cast a vote for the dino survival game. ARK was nominated in the category “Best Use of a Farm Animal.” There aren’t really any farm animals in ARK in the traditional sense. But with a wink, one could consider the beloved house T-Rex as a sort of useful farm animal… just like in the Flintstones’ family.
Vote for us and you’ll get the sheep
Now it gets a bit strange. Wildcard made an announcement on Steam yesterday that was not well received by the community on Steam and Reddit. Wildcard promised on Steam to add a real, modern sheep to the dino world, if the community would ensure that ARK wins.
“Head over to the Steam Awards, you have the opportunity to show your support by voting for ARK! If ARK wins the award, we will ensure that our fluffy friend will make a quick appearance in the next major update.” – Wildcard announcement on Steam
You will get the sheep anyway
It didn’t take long for the community to react with anger and accuse Studio Wildcard of corruption. One forum post after another appeared, questioning whether this was even allowed and how manipulative this statement was. Wildcard responded promptly and changed their statement. Now it is said that the sheep “Ovis Aries” will come to the game regardless of winning an award. This then calmed the community down, and everyone can look forward to the cuddly addition in ARK: Survival Evolved.
Leya says: What a fuss over a fluffy sheep. This shows well what a small, thoughtless sentence can cause. I believe that Wildcard just wanted to inform the community that they want to add the sheep to ARK as soon as possible and won’t delay it for long. Wildcard is known for often delaying updates: The delay of the TEK creature was not a big surprise.
The phrasing regarding the sheep was awkwardly chosen and indeed interpretable as if the ARK developers wanted to buy votes. Whether this is the case remains uncertain. Studio Wildcard responded quickly and correctly by changing their statement.
A sheep is not the only unusual creature in ARK, have you encountered Raptor Claus yet?
