'Ark: Survival Evolved' spin-off to be mashup of itself and 'Minecraft'

A promotional poster for the upcoming Snail Games video game "PixArk"Facebook/officialsnailgamesusa

Video game developer Snail Games announced that a spin-off for "Ark: Survival Evolved" will be coming out soon for the Xbox One and the PC platforms this March, with versions for the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4 to follow. The spin-off is intended to be an amalgamation of the widely popular Microsoft game "Minecraft" and "Ark," and is now being dubbed as "PixArk," which is the official title of the upcoming title. 

As seen in the official trailer, the visual aesthetic of "PixArk" is heavily inspired by that of "Minecraft." However, the game revolves around the mechanics of the "Ark" video game, which means that dinosaurs and other large creatures are present in the game. Characters can be seen building structures from the ground up briefly, as they make a house. Additionally, various climates are also featured in the trailer, from pixelated forests to frigid locations.

In the official Twitter page of the game, images of a brontosaurus and a panda are released, along with the caption that boasts that there will be more than "100 creatures" for players to encounter within the game. Furthermore, these creatures can also be trained and used as vehicles by players when they have been successfully tamed, making for vast in-game possibilities across multiple playthroughs. 

Compared to role-playing games, "PixArk" is meant to mimic the casual play style of "Minecraft" as well, which is still centered around community building through resource gathering, crafting, and building. Specifically, "PixArk" is still intended to fulfill the genre of being an open-world survival video game.

This time around, players will also have the option to tame the numerous creatures that they may encounter in the large universe of the game, while being part of a tribe. 

Another notable feature of the game is the number of options by which players can customize their characters' appearance, as well as their skills. As seen in the trailer, players will have access to different types of weaponry and looks in the game, depending on the situation they are in. 

"PixArk" will be available on Steam Early Access and the Xbox One sometime in March.