Gamigo has announced the schedule for server merges aka 'Evolutions' in both ArcheAge and Archeage Unchained. Both Archeage, which is free, and Archeage Unchained, which is purchased, looks like they are going from 13 servers down to 4, along with a new land rush. Archeage Unchained's servers make the big crunch on March 4, and the original game would lose its baggage a week later. This is by no means the only merger since the game was first released in 2014. We also experienced big mergers in 2015 and 2017. The Schedule for Evolution is as follows.

ArcheAge: Unchained servers:

March 2, 2021: Auction Houses will be locked. No new auctions can be created on any server that is evolving.
March 4, 2021: Evolution date. Game servers will be inaccessible, maintainence begins.
March 5, 2021: North American and European servers will be brought back online at separate times (TBD)*
March 13, 2021: ArcheAge: Unchained Land Rush begins. Times TBD.

ArcheAge legacy servers:

March 9, 2021: Auction Houses will be locked. No new auctions can be created on any server that is evolving.
March 11, 2021: Evolution date. Game servers will be inaccessible, maintainence begins.
March 12, 2021: North American and European servers will be brought back online at separate times (TBD)*
March 20, 2021: Buy ArcheAge Gold Land Rush begins. Times TBD.

While this is bad news for the overall health of the game, active players will be even more frustrated due to the merger (the merger to the new server), which will mean losing land, and the whole match will end up with its infamous end. It's important for players to check out the entire FAQ to learn how to make sure they keep as much of their stuff as possible during the transition，especially keep your Archeage Unchained gold safe.

Gamigo suggests that you should empty your mailbox, sell all stored tradepacks, and participate in the auction before the auction house locks it. Your character will evolve to a new server after maintenance, and everything else will be handled. As in the past, the completely rebuilt attributes will be fully equipped, and other items will be returned by mail. The livestock, larders, and plants on your land will not be returned. However, our past "evolution" experience in "legacy" shows that it is a good idea to storing valuable items in a character's warehouse or inventory. Don’t leave them in chests, it's not a good idea.

In order to make it possible for you to keep the names of all characters (in case of conflicts with characters on different pre-evolution servers), make sure you log in to all characters before the evolution date. Roles and other factors logged in in the 90s from the date of evolution will receive priority. If you want to try the AAU server, Gamigo announced a permanent free trial code AAU3DAYS, you can use Glyph (not steam) to access AAU for 72 hours for free, once per account. Does not include labor regeneration.