ARK: Survival Evolved first landed on Steam’s Early Access on June 2, 2015. What began as an indie dinosaur survival sandbox game has since been downloaded tens of millions of times, seen a steady cadence of expansions, spawned multiple spinoffs, and recently been remastered. The franchise has been a massive success for developer Studio Wildcard, who is celebrating the game’s 10-year anniversary with in-game events, announcements, and new content across the world of ARK. To stick with the theme of the celebration, here are 10 things currently happening in the ARK universe.
1. Who Is Blowing Out the Candles?
ARK: Survival Ascended is the aforementioned remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved that launched in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. It brought the world of ARK to the next generation of consoles and includes a graphical upgrade thanks to being rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5. To celebrate ARK’s 10th birthday, Studio Wildcard added lots of party-themed content to ASA, including new structures, skins, consumables, and emotes. It also added the Egg Incubator from ARK: Survival Evolved, which allows you to keep toasty 10 eggs at once and cut down the time it takes for them to hatch.
2. ARK: Genesis Part 1 Arrives on Mobile
Now available on ARK: Ultimate Mobile Edition, the expansion pack of ARK: Genesis Part 1 is a story-oriented continuation of the series with new gameplay, creatures, craftable items, and structures. You wake up in a virtual simulation and must overcome its tests in order to uncover its secrets, all with the help of HLN-A, your chatty robot companion. As with the rest of the ARK series, you’ll need to explore, tame, build, and fight for survival. But this time, you’ll also need to adapt as your surroundings change around you.
3. New Underwater DLC Coming to ARK: Survival Evolved
Many Survivors still tame, train, and ride dinosaurs in the original ARK: Survival Evolved, and now ASE is getting a new DLC called ARK: Aquatica — the first major content update since the Fjordur map arrived in summer 2022. Exclusively designed by Snail Games to celebrate ARK’s 10-year anniversary, Aquatica adds a new underwater biome and the first entirely submerged ARK of the series, introducing new survival mechanics, environmental hazards, and a large map (three times the vertical size of the Aberration map). The new biome also adds 20 new tameable water-based creatures, 69 new Engrams (62 learnable Engrams and 7 tek Engrams), and underwater survival thanks to things like air pockets and submersibles.
4. ARK: Ragnarok Ascended Is on the Way
ARK: Ragnarok Ascended thunders onto ARK: Survival Ascended on June 18, bringing back the beloved map in a fully remastered form. In addition to returning favorites like the Griffin and Ice Wyvern, this update introduces a brand-new creature: the Bison — a fiercely loyal, horned powerhouse that’s as protective as it is powerful. With its volcanic chaos, rugged terrain, and a new beast to tame, Ragnarok is ready to challenge Survivors all over again.
5. Lost Colony Pre-Orders Start June 18
Pre-orders for ARK: Lost Colony, the first first massive canonical expansion pack for ARK: Survival Ascended, open on June 18. The creative team released an animated trailer earlier this year with the voice talents of Michelle Yeoh, Madeleine Madden, and Auli’i Cravalho that hinted at the map’s story. Set in a sprawling, occupied city, this full-sized expansion features new creatures, structures, gear, and powers, plus an all-new story that continues the story from ARK: Extinction. Players who pre-order will unlock exclusive Day One content and get a first taste of the action coming this November.
6. A Link to ARK 2
Lost Colony is scheduled to release in November, and its story will set the stage for the long-awaited ARK 2. The developers have teased that the upcoming DLC will include story threads, lore clues, and new mechanics that hint at what’s coming in the sequel. What exactly does that mean? We’ll just have to wait and see.
7. New Gareth Coker Music
The Lost Colony map will also feature new music from video game composer Gareth Coker, who composed what became the main theme of ARK: Survival Evolved back in 2015. His extensive catalogue also includes working on Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel, Minecraft, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Halo Infinite, and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
8. Astraeos Update Expands the Frontier
The first major content drop for Astraeos has arrived with the launch of Lemnokis, a massive island map crafted by renowned ARK modder Nekatus. This sprawling new island is packed with diverse biomes, hidden caves, and towering redwoods where ancient ruins and colossal statues hint at lost civilizations. The lush expansion isn’t just for sightseeing — you can take on the game’s first-ever duo minibosses, Kalydonios and Erymanthian, two massive boars that fight with fire and poison.
9. Overwolf-Powered Mods in ARK: Survival Ascended
ARK: Survival Ascended embraces a thriving modding community through its partnership with CurseForge, offering players access to over 4,200 mods — including premium collaborations like the popular ARK x Power Rangers mod that lets Survivors suit up as the Green Ranger, White Ranger, Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, and more — complete with custom emotes and themed weapons like the Saba Sword and Zedd Staff. You can browse and download all official mods in the ARK Portal, where Survivors can customize their game with new creatures, gear, and gameplay experiences crafted by the community. This ecosystem keeps ARK fresh, and there’s more original and licensed mods on the horizon.
10. ARK: The Animated Series Part 2 Arrives in Late 2025
ARK: The Animated Series Part 2 premieres later in 2025, picking up Helena Walker’s survival story as she unravels more of the island’s prehistoric mysteries. Part 1, available now on Paramount+, introduced players to Helena’s world and featured a star-studded cast including Gerard Butler, David Tennant, Russell Crowe, Karl Urban, Elliot Page, Vin Diesel, Alan Tudyk, Madeleine Madden, and Michelle Yeoh — both Madden and Yeoh also appear in the ARK: Lost Colony trailer. You can also bring the show to life in-game with animated series character skins that are available now in ARK: Survival Ascended.
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