Ark Survival of the Fittest PS4 PlayStation 4 1

We may still be waiting for ARK: Survival Evolved to arrive on the PlayStation 4 – it may be for the best considering the state of the project on the Xbox One – but that's not stopping e-sports spin-off ARK: Survival of the Fittest from roaring onto Sony's new-gen system starting 19th July. Better yet, those of you who download the multiplayer survival game will have the opportunity to win cash prizes as part of the Survivor League – assuming that you've got the chops.

But what is the title? Well, it's a Hunger Games-esque survival experience where you'll be pitted against opposing tribes, all within a "continually shrinking" arena that will eventually push you closer and closer to your opponents. It's a cool concept, and while there's be no Jennifer Lawrence involved, there are dinosaurs instead. Fair trade? You bet.

"Tame dinosaurs, craft armour, forge weapons, harvest resources, build bases, make friends, and slaughter others, in what is frankly the deepest combat arena that's ever hit consoles," Studio Wildcard's Kayd Hendricks explained on the PlayStation Blog. "The breadth and depth of strategy, and potential avenues for victory are enormous, and we're working insanely hard to make sure that no matter what approach you take, if you're clever, you can come out on top."

Hendricks added that the studio really likes the PS4 because it allows it to design for a single hardware specification; someone show him the PS4K rumours quick. "We're really looking forward to some of the unique elements of console gameplay: split screen, local LAN play, and we're even looking at introducing bots which you can play against offline to challenge yourself, or to practice, or maybe just to see the world that ARK takes place in," he concluded.

And as for that promise of cash prizes? Basically, the better you perform, the higher you'll move up the leaderboards, and each month the best players will be financially rewarded – as well as entered into invitational events. There's a trailer below, with the game due out on 19th July. We really do like the premise, so hopefully the final product delivers.

[source blog.eu.playstation.com]