If you have ever tried to rent an "official" ARK Survival Ascended server from a provider other than Nitrado and hit a wall, you are not doing anything wrong. Nitrado, a German hosting company, signed a multi-year exclusivity agreement with Studio Wildcard when ARK Survival Ascended launched, and that deal is still in effect. It is one of the most common sources of confusion for anyone new to hosting an ASA server, so here is what it actually means and what your real options are.
What Nitrado's Exclusivity Actually Covers
The exclusivity agreement applies specifically to commercial hosting of official ARK Survival Ascended servers, the ones that appear in the game's official server browser and follow Studio Wildcard's default rules and settings. Other companies genuinely cannot sell you a slot on an official server; only Nitrado can. That agreement runs for years from the game's launch, so this is not a temporary situation that resolves itself soon.
What it does not cover is everyone's actual private or community server. Unofficial servers, meaning any server you or a hosting provider stands up and configures yourselves, whether that is a private tribe server or a public community server with its own rules, are not part of the Nitrado exclusivity at all. This is, and always has been, the normal way most ARK communities actually play.
Official vs Unofficial: What's the Real Difference
- Official servers run Studio Wildcard's default settings, appear in the in-game official server list, and can currently only be rented through Nitrado.
- Unofficial servers run on infrastructure you or your host control, use whatever settings and mods your community wants, and are hosted the same way most multiplayer game servers always have been, through a VPS or a dedicated game hosting provider running the ASA dedicated server software directly.
For most tribes and communities, unofficial is not a downgrade or a workaround, it is the better option. Boosted rates, custom difficulty settings, curated mod lists through CurseForge, and full admin control over who joins are all things an official server does not give you. Unofficial servers have been the backbone of the ARK community since the original Survival Evolved, long before Ascended's exclusivity deal existed.
How Unofficial ASA Hosting Actually Works
Setting up an unofficial ARK Survival Ascended server does not involve Nitrado or any exclusivity restriction at all. You choose a hosting provider running the dedicated server software directly on their own hardware, pick your map, configure your rates and rules in GameUserSettings.ini, and invite your tribe using a direct connect IP rather than the official server browser. This is exactly what Space-Node's ARK Survival Ascended hosting does.
Space-Node runs ASA on AMD Ryzen 9 processors with DDR5 memory and NVMe storage in the Netherlands, giving 5 to 30 ms latency across Western Europe and under 60 ms for most of the continent. Plans scale from the 8GB DODO tier for a small vanilla map through the 24GB REX tier, which is cluster ready for up to 40 players, up to the 32GB GIGA tier for large multi-map clusters and heavily modded communities. Every plan includes CurseForge mod support, DDoS protection, and full FTP and RCON access, none of which an official Nitrado server gives you the same control over.
Why This Matters for New ARK Communities
The practical upshot for anyone starting a new ARK Survival Ascended community: do not assume you need to fight through Nitrado's official server queue or pricing to get a working ASA server. If what you actually want is control over rates, mods, difficulty, and who can join, an unofficial server on dedicated hosting has always been the standard path, and it is unaffected by who holds the rights to sell official server slots.
FAQ
Is Nitrado really the only official ARK Survival Ascended host? Yes, for official servers specifically. Nitrado holds a multi-year exclusivity agreement with Studio Wildcard covering commercial hosting of official ASA servers, running through the back half of this decade based on the game's 2023 launch.
Can I still rent an unofficial ARK Survival Ascended server from another provider? Yes. Unofficial and private community servers are not covered by the Nitrado exclusivity agreement at all, and this is how most ARK tribes and communities have always played, including before Ascended existed.
Is an unofficial server worse than an official one? Not for most communities. Unofficial servers give you full control over rates, difficulty, mods, and membership, which official servers with Wildcard's default settings do not offer.
Does Space-Node sell official ARK Survival Ascended servers? No. Space-Node's ARK Survival Ascended hosting runs unofficial, self-managed servers on dedicated Ryzen 9 hardware in the Netherlands, the same model most ARK communities have used for years, with full control over settings, mods, and access.
How much RAM does an ARK Survival Ascended server need? A small vanilla single map runs on 8GB, while a full official-size map with players, dinos, and mods generally needs 16GB or more. Space-Node's REX tier (24GB) is cluster ready for up to 40 players. See our ARK Survival Ascended server hosting guide for full hardware guidance.