One of the most popular video game franchises in existence is about to meet one the most successful pre-release games in history, according to a recent report by Game Rant.
The early-access version of ARK: Survival Evolved, a survival based RPG set for official release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC later this year, now has a downloadable Pokémon mod that will allow players to transform ARK‘s in-game creatures into Pokémon that can be hunted and adopted. The mod, cleverly titled Pokémon Evolved, was created by a modder named “Mystic Academy.”
Despite being incredibly popular with fans of both ARK and Pokémon, Mystic Academy was recently hit with a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claim asking that the mod be removed. However, according to a report by PC Gamer, the DMCA claim has since been lifted. In the same report, developer Mystic Academy also states their belief that the DMCA claim was actually submitted by another ARK modder rather than Nintendo or The Pokémon Company. Mystic Academy also noted that neither of these companies have yet to involve themselves in the discussion.
Regardless, this fun mod that merges two of the most popular games today is still available for download. However, we can only assume that the mod will remain untouched by the big companies for a limited time, as Mystic Academy has publicly stated that official game sprites used for the mod were ripped directly from Pokémon X & Y.
As many PC gamers are aware, Nintendo rarely lets things like this slide, even going as far as to recently shut down the developers of the extremely popular Pokémon Uranium mod due to similar copyright issues. Therefore, it’s unlikely that the mod will remain unscathed for much longer.
Still, ARK: Survival Evolved will officially release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC later in 2017 regardless of the fate of the mod.
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