ARK announces free new map, DLC and mod tool on the series’ 11th anniversary
Studio Wildcard took advantage of the IGN Live stage to drop a generous list of new features for ARK: Survival Ascended. A new map, paid expansion, mod creation tool and a community-voted creature update – all with dates already confirmed or a defined timeframe.
Genesis Ascended Part 1 arrives free on June 25
The first item on the list is Genesis Ascended Part 1, a remaster of the original Genesis map adapted to ASA’s Unreal Engine 5. Access is free for all players and the release date is set for Thursday, June 25. No pre-purchase, no special edition – anyone who already owns the game receives it automatically.
On the same date arrives the Bob’s True Tales: Tides of Fortune DLC, an expansion that reuses assets from the Atlas MMO, a project abandoned by Wildcard itself a few years ago. The first images have already previewed what to expect: a giant octopus monster and the creature called Tidepup, which looks like a curious mix of marine mammal and dog. Reusing Atlas is nothing new for those who follow the studio – the developer never ruled out the possibility of migrating elements from the game into the ARK ecosystem.
ARK Maker: a map editor without having to learn Unreal Engine
The most ambitious announcement, however, is ARK Maker. The tool lets you create maps and modifications directly from within the game, using the entire existing asset library, without requiring prior knowledge of UE5. For those who want to go further, there’s support for the Lua scripting language. The content created can be shared through the game’s own mod browser.
ARK Maker is slated for the third quarter of 2025 and will arrive for PC, Xbox and PlayStation 5. The initiative speaks directly to a well-established trend in the survival game market: active modding communities significantly extend the lifespan of titles. Games like Minecraft and Garry’s Mod are classic examples of this. Wildcard clearly wants to capitalize on that cycle.
Therizinosaurus is the next dinosaur to get a rework
On the immediate updates front, the community voted and chose the Therizinosaurus – affectionately called Tickle Chicken by players – as the next creature to undergo a visual and mechanical overhaul. The work is still in the early stages, but Wildcard assured that the goal is to “enhance what already makes it special, keeping the chaotic charm that made players love it.”
With eleven years of the series completed in 2025, ARK remains one of the most long-lived and popular survival franchises on the market. The transition to ASA – a forced UE5 relaunch that divided the community at launch – seems to be gaining traction now, with a more robust content calendar in sight.
