This article is an archived note for the ARK: Survival Evolved 2018 holiday event. It is not a current ARK event guide, and it should not be used as proof that modern ARK events work the same way.
What this 2018 note meant
For the 2018 holiday event, the old guidance was that servers could receive the event content by running a normal Steam update from the control panel. No separate holiday command line was required for that event.
How the old update flow worked
- Open the ARK server in the control panel.
- Stop the server.
- Take a backup if players had active progress on the server.
- Run Steam Update.
- Wait for the update task to finish.
- Start the server and check in-game that the event content is active.
For current ARK events
Current ARK events may require different launch options, server settings, or game versions. Check the current event instructions before changing a live server. If you are not sure which option applies, submit a support ticket before changing command line settings.
