ARK Tournament Survivors

01Overview

ARK Tournament Survivors is a private server network for ARK: Survival Ascended, playable on PC (Steam), Xbox and PlayStation with full crossplay. It is structured around a recurring competitive season in which tribes compete on a network-wide leaderboard for cash prizes. The stated design goal is a ruleset that plays comparably to Small Tribes Official and Conquest Official, without the purchasable advantages common to unofficial servers.

The network is operated by ATS Ark Servers LTD on a not-for-profit basis. Competing carries no entry fee, and no purchase is required to play or to win prize money. The only item sold is queue access, which affects a player's position in the connection queue and nothing else.

ARK Tournament Survivors is an independent community project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Studio Wildcard, the developer of ARK: Survival Ascended.

02Tournament format

The tournament is a season-long leaderboard competition rather than a single scheduled event. Placement is determined by a tribe's final leaderboard position at the close of the season, not by the outcome of any individual match.

A season runs for approximately three months. The leaderboard itself does not open on day one: the network uses a phased rollout, and ranked scoring begins on day 30 once all clusters have merged. Tribes therefore have roughly two months of ranked play in which to establish position.

Leaderboard scoring derives from in-game competitive activity, including raids, player kills, enemy dino kills and structures destroyed. The full scoring specification is published on the website and in Discord at the end of the season. Staff rulings on placement are final.

In-game progress is temporary by design. Competitive ARK relies on scheduled wipes, and the network wipes on a published schedule tied to the season.

03Prize pool

The Season 1 prize pool is $28,000 guaranteed. The guaranteed figure is fixed and does not vary with player count, participation levels or sales volume.

Fifth through tenth place

Placements five through ten are funded separately. 100% of VIP sales are placed into a pool, which ATS then matches dollar for dollar. The total is calculated at season end and split equally among the six qualifying tribes.

The pool reaches its ceiling once VIP sales total $3,000, producing $6,000 after the match and $1,000 per tribe. Revenue beyond that ceiling is carried forward into the following season's prize pool rather than retained as profit.

Combined with the Creator Rewards Program, ATS states a total Season 1 cash payout of $33,000: $28,000 to tribes and $5,000 to creators.

Cash prizes are paid to winning tribes after the season concludes and results are verified. Payout method and timing are arranged directly with each winning tribe.

04Season launch phases

Rather than opening every server simultaneously, ATS uses a five-phase rollout intended to distribute population, preserve server performance and allow the network to scale to real demand. Projected participation for Season 1 is 800 or more players against a full-scale capacity of approximately 1,900 slots.

Phase 3 is explicitly conditional. If population indicates a second beginners cluster is unnecessary, the phase is postponed or cancelled to keep existing clusters densely populated.

05Servers and configuration

Maps in rotation

The Island · Scorched Earth · The Center · Aberration · Extinction · Ragnarok · Valguero · Lost Colony · Astraeos

Season 1 rates

Core settings

Building restrictions

Tribes and transfers

Item and stat clamps

Disabled creatures

Disabled Tek items

All other Tek gear, weapons, saddles and structures are enabled.

Mods

Only the mods listed by the network are supported. Players subscribe to the exact published list and nothing further; unlisted mods are unsupported and may prevent connection. Connection failures citing outdated mods are typically caused by the wrong account or an incomplete mod download.

Tracking and accounts

No account or login is required to play or to be tracked. Every player and tribe on the servers is recorded automatically across PC, Xbox and PlayStation, and the leaderboards are fully crossplay. There is nothing to link or sign into.

06Rules and enforcement

ATS publishes a Code of Conduct comprising fifteen numbered policies, enforced network-wide by a moderation team operating on a 24/7 basis. The document is unusually strict relative to typical unofficial servers, and several policies extend liability beyond the individual player. Policies may be revised at any time and apply immediately to everyone.

Hacking and exploiting

Third-party programs including bots, ESP, aimbots and unauthorised engine modifications are forbidden. Prohibited exploits include building or travelling in unintended areas such as under the mesh or above the map, duplication of tames, items or characters, crashing servers or players, excessive C4 placement to block enemy C4, stacking creatures to prevent targeting, and floating structures or platform saddle extensions that bypass building limits.

Discussion or mention of cheats, hacks or exploits is itself prohibited. Attempting to access the cluster after a hardware ID ban results in an immediate re-ban and possible escalation to permanent system-wide bans.

Griefing and blocking

Intentional interference with player spawns is prohibited, including structures that trap new players, spike traps or turrets near spawn zones, aggressive dinos placed at spawns, and gates or cages that prevent movement. Cave building follows the Stego rule: construction is permitted only where a Stegosaurus can walk in through the entrance. Rat hole building is prohibited everywhere. Blocking cave entrances is permitted.

Conduct, names and trading

Unlawful, abusive, harassing, obscene, sexually explicit or discriminatory language is prohibited, as is chat spam and gameplay-disrupting macros. Advertising third-party services is not permitted. Real-money trading is strictly forbidden; all trades must occur in-game using in-game items or creatures. Names containing vulgarity, hate speech or invisible characters are prohibited, and impersonating staff is forbidden · administrators carry a verified marker.

Eligibility policies

• Game ban age. Every Steam Game Ban on an account must be at least 100 days old. Any ban younger than 100 days disqualifies the player immediately.
• Game ban count. More than three active Game Bans results in a permanent ban, without exception. Falsifying ban status results in a permanent ban without appeal.
• Association. Playing with anyone who currently has, or previously had, a cheating violation triggers an automatic association ban. Responsibility rests entirely with the player; lack of awareness is not a defence. All parties face identical discipline regardless of direct involvement.
• VPN. Players with fewer than 250 hours may not use a VPN under any circumstances, regardless of latency or connection issues. Only approved cloud gaming services such as GeForce Now are whitelisted.

Poaching

Poaching is defined as any attempt to recruit, solicit or persuade players to leave the network, through private messages, in-game chat, forums, social media or any other platform, including by offering incentives or promises of a better experience. It carries an immediate permanent ban with no warnings, extends to anyone aiding or knowingly participating, and poaching bans are final and non-appealable.

Competing servers and affiliates

A conflict-of-interest policy governs affiliation with competing servers or communities. Encouraging ATS players toward rival communities, sharing competitor content, or promoting rival servers may result in a ban. Accepting a staff or leadership role in a competing community results in immediate removal from the network. Undisclosed affiliations, including informal support or representation, may result in a network-wide ban. Appeals under this policy are reviewed case by case.

Network association

If any account on a network connection is banned, the entire network may be permanently banned · covering household members, friends, visitors and any device sharing the IP address, for every current and future account. Banned individuals must not permit others to play from the same connection. Ban evasion, including VPNs, proxies, alternate or burner accounts, hardware or MAC address changes, or connecting from a previously banned network, results in permanent irrevocable bans on all related accounts and devices. Network bans issued under this policy are final and non-appealable.

Doxxing

Zero tolerance applies to collecting, sharing or soliciting personal information with intent to harass, intimidate or harm. Prohibited conduct covers full legal names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media profiles and any identifying or locating information, as well as encouraging or aiding others to do so. Reporting suspected doxxing is mandatory, and failure to report known incidents is itself subject to discipline. Violations result in immediate permanent bans without appeal and possible escalation to legal authorities.

Appeals and staff integrity

No appeals are accepted for hacking, exploiting, aiding hackers, DDoS or network disruption, real-money trading, doxxing or threats. All other bans are appealed through the ticket system. A player may request that a second appeal be reviewed by a different staff member by opening a new ticket and explicitly requesting reassignment; the staff member who issued a ban never handles its appeal. If the second reviewer upholds the ban, the decision is final and no further appeals are accepted.

Anti-cheat

The network operates a custom anti-cheat system developed in-house and not publicly documented. Detection of third-party cheating software results in an automatic permanent ban. Hardware ID bans are used against repeat offenders.

Global policy

The Code of Conduct states that every rule applies to every player regardless of tenure, standing or purchase history, that policy changes are binding immediately and staying current is the player's responsibility, that punishment applies network-wide across all servers, and that support is provided only through the official ticket system. Unsolicited direct messages to staff may be treated as harassment.

07Monetization model

ATS operates a deliberately narrow storefront. Two products exist, both providing queue access only:

Queue access confers no stats, items, resources or leaderboard benefit of any kind. The stated rationale is that queue position is the one thing the network can sell without altering any fight or rank, while still funding prize money.

100% of VIP revenue is directed into the 5th–10th place prize pool, which ATS then matches. Revenue exceeding the pool cap rolls into the following season. Server costs are carried by the operator. Payments and delivery are handled by the provider Tip4Serv; ATS does not receive full card details.

Because access is a digital service that begins immediately, purchases are generally non-refundable except where consumer law requires otherwise, or where a purchase was not delivered due to a fault on the network's side.

08Creator Rewards Program

The Creator Rewards Program is a separate reward operation from the in-game tournament, paying cash for tournament content. Submissions are reviewed by the ATS Enforcement Team and judged on production quality rather than gameplay performance or channel size.

Entry requirements

• Creator must be 13 years of age or older
• All gameplay recorded on the official ATS cluster; outside footage is not accepted
• A human-recorded voice must clearly state "ARK Tournament Survivors" during the opening
• Minimum 1080p resolution, smooth playback, clear audio
• Minimum length of 10 minutes
• A working ATS Discord invite link in the metadata
• Minimum 1,000 views at the time of review
• One submission per creator per tournament

Automatic disqualification

Entries are rejected for AI voiceovers, AI-generated intros or synthetic narration; a missing or unclear spoken opening; footage recorded outside the official cluster; a missing or invalid Discord link; or fewer than 1,000 views at review.

Judging criteria include storytelling, editing precision, colour grading, sound design, originality and overall production effort. Follower and subscriber counts are explicitly excluded from consideration.

09Community and support

Discord is the network's operational hub. Server IPs, rules, server settings, announcements, recruitment and support all reside there, and participation effectively requires membership.

All support is handled through the ticket system in the submit-a-ticket channel. Staff do not provide support through direct messages, and unsolicited direct messages to staff may be treated as harassment. Ban appeals, linking problems, delivery issues and player reports are all routed through tickets.

Legal and privacy requests are handled by email through the address published on the ATS legal page.

10Terms, privacy and corporate

ATS publishes its Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct as a single legal document, last updated 22 July 2026.

Operator and jurisdiction

Service providers

Personal data is shared only with the providers required to run the service: Tip4Serv for payments, Nitrado for game server hosting, Cloudflare for DNS, CDN and security, DigitalOcean for website hosting, and Discord for community. Each processes data under its own policy. ATS states that it does not sell personal data and does not use third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

Data collected

• In-game identity used for tracking: the player and tribe identifiers reported by the game server across PC, Xbox and PlayStation, used to operate the leaderboard.
• Gameplay data · in-game statistics, tribe and player names, and results, used to operate the leaderboard and tournament.
• Purchase metadata from Tip4Serv, such as product purchased and transaction reference. Full card numbers are not received.
• Technical data · IP address, browser and device information, and server logs, for security and operation.
• Discord account information made available when a player joins or links Discord.

Processing bases are stated as performance of a contract, legitimate interests covering security and anti-cheat, consent where required, and legal obligation. Players may request access, correction, deletion, export, objection or restriction, and EU residents may complain to a local data protection authority such as the Dutch Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

Service and progress

The Terms state that servers are wiped on a published schedule and that all in-game progress is temporary by design, that servers may be added, changed, merged or retired and rates, rules or tournament structure adjusted during a season, and that the service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without guaranteed uptime. Accounts terminated for a rule breach forfeit active VIP without refund. Chargebacks initiated instead of contacting support may result in loss of VIP and a network ban.

Intellectual property

The ARK Tournament Survivors name, logo, site design and original content are owned by ATS Ark Servers LTD. Content submitted by players and creators remains theirs, subject to a non-exclusive licence permitting ATS to display and promote it in connection with the tournament. ARK: Survival Ascended and ARK: Survival Evolved are trademarks of Studio Wildcard, over which ATS claims no ownership.

11Season archive

Season 1 (2026)

12Glossary

13External links

• Official website
• Season launch plan
• Tournament leaderboard
• Creator Rewards Program
• Frequently asked questions
• Server settings
• Terms, privacy policy and Code of Conduct
• Official Discord