ARK: Survival Ascended launched on 25 October 2023 in Unreal Engine 5, and Studio Wildcard committed to remastering the entire Survival Evolved DLC catalogue inside it over several years, plus building brand-new content. This page tracks every official map and major content drop with its date and free or paid status.
The one rule that saves you confusion: the remastered story maps are free, everything new or canonical is paid. The base game, The Island, is included. Every other Survival Evolved map that has been remastered costs nothing extra. What you pay for is Lost Colony, the Astraeos community map, the Tides of Fortune naval pack, Dragontopia, and the Bob’s Tall Tales / Fantastic Tames creature packs.
Released content (chronological)
| Date | Content | Type | Cost | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Oct 2023 | The Island | Base map | Free (included) | The UE5 remaster that launched ASA |
| 1 Apr 2024 | Scorched Earth | Free map | Free | Desert ARK; shipped with the paid Bob’s Tall Tales: Frontier Showdown |
| 4 Jun 2024 | The Center | Free map | Free | Archipelago with two underwater domes |
| 5 Sep 2024 | Aberration | Free map | Free | Underground ARK; Bob’s Tall Tales: Steampunk Ascent |
| 20 Dec 2024 | Extinction | Free map | Free | Ruined Earth, Titans, King Titan; Bob’s Tall Tales: Wasteland War |
| Feb 2025 | Astraeos | Community map | Paid ($14.99) | Greek-mythology map by Nekatus, officially adopted |
| 20 Jun 2025 | Ragnarok | Free map | Free | Norse map, remastered; adds the Bison |
| 7 Oct 2025 | Valguero | Free map | Free | Adds Megaraptor and Elderclaw |
| 19 Dec 2025 | Lost Colony | Canonical expansion | Paid ($29.99) | First original ASA story map |
| 25 Feb 2026 | Astraeos Expansion | Map update | Free (to owners) | Large free expansion to the paid Astraeos map |
| 20 May 2026 | Fantastic Tames Season 1 | Creature pack | Paid | Burrowbuck plus a reworked Araneo |
| 3 Jul 2026 | Genesis Part 1 | Free map | Free | Simulation map rebuilt in UE5; shipped with the paid Tides of Fortune naval pack ($19.99) |
What the paid packs actually are
Two paid lines are easy to confuse with maps because they ship on the same day as a free map.
- Bob’s Tall Tales — a story and gameplay pack (Frontier Showdown, Steampunk Ascent, Wasteland War) that layers themed content onto Scorched Earth, Aberration and Extinction. Not a separate map.
- Tides of Fortune — a naval gameplay pack (ships, cannons, ocean warfare) that launched alongside the free Genesis Part 1. It is the $19.99 purchase; Genesis Part 1 itself is free.
Still on the roadmap (late 2026 and beyond)
These had no confirmed date as of October 2026, or were announced but not yet shipped:
| Expected | Content | Type | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3–Q4 2026 | Cerberax, Enigmasaur (Fantastic Tames S1) | Creature pack | Paid |
| Late 2026 | Unreal Engine 5.8 upgrade | Engine | Free |
| 9 Dec 2026 | Dragontopia (full skyworld map) | Expansion pass | Paid ($29.99) |
| TBA | Genesis Part 2 | Free map | Free |
| TBA | Fjordur (ASE map) | Free map | Free |
| TBA | Lost Island (ASE map) | Free map | Free |
| TBA | Crystal Isles (ASE map) | Free map | Free |
| 2027 | Atlantis | Expansion | Paid |
| 2027 | Legacy of Santiago | Expansion | Paid |
Lost Island, Fjordur and Crystal Isles are free maps on Survival Evolved. None of them had reached Survival Ascended by late 2026. If you are on ASA and searching for them, that is why they are missing. See the Lost Island guide and Fjordur guide for what each contains on ASE.
The accuracy caveat
Wildcard’s published dates slip more often than they hold, so treat any single date above as a plan, not a promise. For the live position, the official Survive The Ark roadmap is the source of truth. If this page contradicts the current roadmap, the roadmap wins.
For the maps that are already live, start with the Scorched Earth guide, Aberration guide and Extinction guide. The newer ones are in the Ragnarok guide, Genesis Part 1 guide, Astraeos guide and Valguero guide. Also worth reading: the single-player settings that shape a solo run.