Studio Wildcard announces the release of the ARK Dev Kit, a version of the Unreal Engine 4 Editor specifically streamlined for the creation of modifications for ARK: Survival Evolved, their early access action/adventure. There are details on the editor on the Ark website, and the announcement has additional news on a new "survival of the fittest" mod which shows the power of the toolkit by adding a new game mode, as well as a modding contest with a grand prize of $15,000 and an Alienware PC. Here's more:

To showcase the depth of the ARK Dev Kit, the Studio Wildcard team created the competitive ‘Survival of the Fittest’ (SoTF) total conversion mod, which is now available to download via Steam Workshop. Each SotF battle takes place on a modified version of the ARK island, with the objective being to eliminate all other survivors before they eliminate you! The map is surrounded by a dome-shaped force field that shrinks as the match progresses, and leveling, gathering, taming and building happen at a quicker rate. As the contestants enter this arena, not only do they need to look out for the dangers from the creatures and the other survivors, but also randomized ‘Evolution Events.’ These events take place every 30 minutes and have major impact on the gameplay, from freak weather occurrences, to dinosaurs dropping from the sky, extra supply drops, day-to-night shifts, player location reveals, and more. Best of all, the full source content for the ‘Survival of the Fittest’ mode is available within the ARK Dev Kit, so aspiring mod creators can see how this game-changing “Total Conversion” has been put together, and build on it or make their own!