Ark: Survival Evolved

VS

The Elder Scrolls Online

Ark: Survival Evolved is a popular survival sandbox game released in 2017 and available on nearly all platforms. Its peak was several years ago, but it maintains a stable community thanks to official and community servers, modding, and occasional event content. While numbers have declined since launch, the game still sees tens of thousands of daily players across PC and consoles, especially due to its ongoing updates and active mod scene. However, it is not an MMO as it does not feature a single, large-scale persistent world—servers are capped and players are sharded.

The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is a major MMORPG developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda. Released in 2014, it has maintained a strong player base through regular major expansions and updates. Although its peak concurrent userbase was higher after launch and at key expansion drops, it remains one of the top MMORPGs with a healthy, active population across PC and consoles. Based on industry knowledge and typical MMO retention with major publisher support, a current estimate of 120,000 daily players is reasonable.