What’s Next for ARK Players?

With a new year finally here, players are wondering about the future of ARK. From the game engine’s update to new map releases, there’s a lot planned. We’ll walk you through the plan for ARK: Survival Ascended in 2025. Let’s begin!

UE 5.5 Update

In the most recent official roadmap for ARK, the Unreal Engine 5.5 update will come around March, 2025. According to Studio Wildcard, this update will enhance the game for the better. This will be released before the Ragnarok map, which many fans are excited about.

They’ll be able to finally see this world look stunning with the new UE 5.5 update. ARK will be more equipped with tools needed to further make the game beautiful and play smoothly.

Map Release Schedule

In 2025, you can expect many maps coming to ARK: Survival Ascended. These include Ragnarok, Valguero, and Lost Colony, with others planned for 2026. One of the maps planned in June has already been released, Astraeos Premium, which you can play right now. These maps provide you with tons of new environments, dinos, and more to enjoy!

However, it can be troublesome to have all of them installed at once due to high memory. Fortunately, Studio Wildcard said that players will be able to pick and choose what maps they want to play. This means that you can save on lots of space by only downloading the ones you want.

Cross-platform Modding

If you don’t know already, using mods with crossplatform is possible! Whether you’re on PC, Xbox, or PlayStation, you can use CurseForge mods and play with others in ARK. This opens the door for tons of epic adventures and new content.

Explore new gameplay features, dinos, worlds, and so much more! This is perfect for anyone looking to expand their ARK world.

Public & Private Servers

Whether you want to play ARK on a public or private server, you have plenty of options. There are many communities to join, across all platforms.

In the case where you want to create your own server, that’s possible too thanks to ARK partnering with server host Nitrado. Whenever new maps are released, you can invite friends and start an awesome adventure! Alternatively, you can set up mods and enjoy a customized experience.

Conclusion

Players looking ahead for ARK: Survival Ascended in 2025 will be met with various new maps and the Unreal Engine 5.5 update.

These are the primary changes coming to the game over this year, but other quality of life patches might also come. The content roadmap from Studio Wildcard only shows us so much, so be on the lookout for more updates this year.