ARK: Survival Ascended News

This week, we revealed the first animated teaser for ARK: Lost Colony, the next canonical DLC coming to ARK: Survival Ascended, offering a glimpse at Mei Yin’s journey following the events of Extinction as she arrives at Arat Prime. We also shared a sneak preview of what’s to come in ARK: The Animated Series Part 2, arriving later in 2025. There’s a lot to look forward to!



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Download in full resolution

ARK: Lost Colony is a full-sized canonical expansion pack featuring a new map, creatures, items, structures, and the continuation of the story of ARK.


Lost Colony drops you into a massive, occupied city packed with dangers as you become the hunted, and gain access to powerful new kinds of character abilities, unique gear, building systems, and exotic tames. The epic new story of ARK Lost Colony bridges the gap from ARK Extinction to ARK Genesis and into the world of ARK 2. Will Survivors be able to face down the evil lurking in Arat Prime and connect ARK's past and future?

ARK: Lost Colony becomes available for pre-order June 2nd 2025, and all purchases will immediately unlock exclusive Lost Colony preview gameplay content. 

With a full release in November 2025, ARK: Lost Colony will be priced at $29.99, for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms.

Wishlist on Steam

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Prepare to 'respawn' in ARK The Animated Series, with this preview of a new sequence from the upcoming Part 2, featuring Russell Crowe as Kor the Prophet! An animated adaptation of the hit video game featuring Michelle Yeoh, Gerard Butler, and Vin Diesel, ARK: The Animated Series is a sweeping saga spanning eons of human history. When 21st century paleontologist Helena Walker (Madeleine Madden) herself resurrected on a mysterious primeval land after tragedy. There she must learn to survive and find new allies, or die again at the hands of ruthless warlords -- all while trying to uncover the true nature of their strange new world.

Stream ARK: The Animated Series Part 1 now, only on Paramount +!




Journey through the breathtaking landscapes of Astraeos and capture its mythic beauty! Whether you’re a master of in-game photography, an expert builder, or a talented artist, this is your chance to showcase your skills and win exclusive prizes including the ARK: The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack!

• Entries Open: Friday, March 14th
  
• Entries Close: Wednesday, March 25th
  
• Winners Announced: Friday, March 28th
  

• Screenshots/Vistas – Capture the stunning scenery of Astraeos (or your own beautiful mug).
  
• Builds – Show off your most impressive in-game creations.
  
• Art – Create original artwork inspired by Astraeos’ landscapes, ruins, creatures and mythology.
  

• Category Winners: Receive a copy of ARK: The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack featuring over 75 exclusive skins, including, Mammoth, Tusoteuthis, Spinosaurus, Equus, along with Jane, Chava, Rebel Mei Yin, and New-Armor Mei Yin. Valued at $14.99
  
• Grand Prize Runner Up: ARK: The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack plus a Fantastic Tame of your choosing.
  
• Grand Prize Winner: All of the prizes above plus your artwork featured as the server banner on the ARK Official Discord for one week!
  

• Your submission must be Astraeos-themed.
  
• You need to have the rights to the image you submit. No copyrighted material or artwork made by others without consent.
  
• One submission per user. No multiple submissions or submissions across multiple categories.
  
• Content must follow server rules:
  
  • No NSFW, derogatory, discriminatory, or disrespectful content.
    
  • PG-13 only.
    
  • No AI-generated content.
    

• Submit your entry in ⁠the dedicated channels on the Official ARK Discord.
  
• Include a brief title or description of your submission.
  

Unleash your creativity and let Astraeos inspire you! We can't wait to see your submissions.


Next week we’ll provide some updates to aspects of the roadmap, including news on the Unreal Engine 5.5 upgrade. We appreciate your patience and look forward to sharing more then!




Expire servers are temporary servers across the network that will eventually be removed, and you can find them by searching for "Expire" in the session filter.

These servers will be online until 10 am PST / 1 pm EST on March 24th. We're preemptively using our allocation for future maps to host some additional sessions that players can travel onto to farm, tame, and experience the newest content Gameplay. The same transfer restrictions apply in that you are only able to download your character, but you can freely take anything off. This is to help reduce load off some of the other servers, or provide players an option for those who just want to jump onto a new map temporarily.

Please note that these servers will no longer exist after 10 am PST / 1 pm EST on March 24th, so if you intend to use them, remember to transfer your items/creatures/characters off before that date, as nothing will be saved beyond that time period.

This weekend, the Official Network will be receiving bonus rates! It will be active until Monday, March 24.

• PVP/PVE: 2x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience, and Breeding
  
• Small Tribes: 4.5x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience + 4x Breeding
  
• ARKpocalypse: 5x Harvesting, Taming and Experience, and Breeding
  

Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form



Creator: LolsAtLance
LolsAtLance created a step-by-step guide to help you build your very own all-in-one Greek base!
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]

Creator: ClickTockClock
ClickTockClock goes over all you need to know to tame a Skyshroud Drakara.
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]




Hellfire by wyvernadas


Part 18 of Drawing Every Dino Dossier! by cascadingcaramel


The wonderful Yi Ling by Panoptos


Manticore by Nilona


TEK Stego - Thor by DragonWolf


Chibi Griffin by Cayyruzius


A survivor protecting a tame by FlawlezFalcon





Photo Mode by @ARKLove9


Photo Mode by alexj_21


The King of the Clouds by 7467a


My PC almost blew up making this screenshot by frozen_soap


The game of shadows by crazylablady



Enjoy your weekend!
Studio Wildcard

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark

Discord: discord.com/invite/playark

Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark

Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark

Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark

Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110

Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark

Threads: threads.net/@survivetheark

Official Wiki: ark.wiki.gg

It seems like no matter where you go, Mappa is right there, ready and waiting with an anime something-or-other you weren't expecting. This time, you'll find the studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen in Ark: Survival Ascended, of all places, specifically in its first expansion pack Lost Colony. Studio Wildcard revealed a teaser of the expansion yesterday, set to be released November this year, showing off one of "numerous" anime cutscenes that it will feature focusing on the character Mei Yin.

Read more

We’re having a blast bringing more of Garuga123’s ARK: Additions creatures into the base game. They add new challenges, new ways to play, and let’s be real—some absolute units to tame (or run from). These creatures may see some adjustments along the way, but one thing is certain—they're here to leave their mark on the ARK!

The mighty Deinotherium is stomping its way into ARK. Tough, towering, and ready to shake up your world! Better have a game plan.




Download in full resolution

Towering over even the largest mammoths, Deinotherium will dominate the open plains on March 26th. Agitate one, and you may find yourself on the receiving end of a devastating charge—but the real danger lies in their ability to rally their allies with powerful, morale-boosting calls, making a single confrontation quickly escalate into an all-out stampede.

Keep up with the development on ARK: Additions in Garuga's Discord!




Journey through the breathtaking landscapes of Astraeos and capture its mythic beauty! Whether you’re a master of in-game photography, an expert builder, or a talented artist, this is your chance to showcase your skills and win exclusive prizes including the ARK: The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack!

• Entries Open: Friday, March 14th
  
• Entries Close: Wednesday, March 25th
  
• Winners Announced: Friday, March 28th
  

• Screenshots/Vistas – Capture the stunning scenery of Astraeos (or your own beautiful mug).
  
• Builds – Show off your most impressive in-game creations.
  
• Art – Create original artwork inspired by Astraeos’ landscapes, ruins, creatures and mythology.
  

• Category Winners: Receive a copy of ARK: The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack featuring over 75 exclusive skins, including, Mammoth, Tusoteuthis, Spinosaurus, Equus, along with Jane, Chava, Rebel Mei Yin, and New-Armor Mei Yin. Valued at $14.99
  
• Grand Prize Runner Up: ARK: The Animated Series Cosmetic Pack plus a Fantastic Tame of your choosing.
  
• Grand Prize Winner: All of the prizes above plus your artwork featured as the server banner on the ARK Official Discord for one week!
  

• Your submission must be Astraeos-themed.
  
• You need to have the rights to the image you submit. No copyrighted material or artwork made by others without consent.
  
• One submission per user. No multiple submissions or submissions across multiple categories.
  
• Content must follow server rules:
  
  • No NSFW, derogatory, discriminatory, or disrespectful content.
    
  • PG-13 only.
    
  • No AI-generated content.
    

• Submit your entry in ⁠the dedicated channels on the Official ARK Discord.
  
• Include a brief title or description of your submission.
  

Unleash your creativity and let Astraeos inspire you! We can't wait to see your submissions.


[previewyoutube]MODSPOLIGHTLINK[/previewyoutube]
Download & play new custom content created by players, including new maps, creatures, items, and game modes, through a dedicated new Mod-browser directly within the game. Enjoy an endless stream of new ARK content as the creativity and talent of the community is fully unleashed for the first time across gaming platforms and stay tuned as we spotlight more Cross-Platform Mods each week!

This video features:

• Fortified Wood Structure Skin by Riiik
  
• THARAT: Ancient Sand by j26arkitecto
  
• Shamrock Shores Holiday Event by Trixt3r
  

Quick update on Black Screen reports we’ve had on console. We found that one of the main causes of black screens when connecting to Astraeos servers was related to how much memory was available when playing on the map. The latest updates on the map resolved the existence of an invalid actor, as well as significantly optimised the map to increase available memory by about 40% across all consoles. This should significantly cut down on crashes while playing in-world and help resolve some issues when connecting to Astraeos servers.

We're still actively looking into reports that might impact other maps and working with platform partners to resolve these cases.




Update on the Official Network: we're still experiencing heavy DDoS attacks and our hosts are aware and are doing everything they can to mitigate them, including working with other external specialists.

We have to be delicate about how much information we share, as too much can make us vulnerable to more attacks, or even just provoke the attacker to go further. It's possible that this message alone could cause us to receive a heavier attack.

The teams working on this are doing everything they can to mitigate the attacks and keep the servers online and some excellent progress has been made over the last week. We’re unlikely to share much going forward outside of alerts when an attack has disrupted services but rest assured it’ll continue to remain a top priority for the teams and partners involved.

Appreciate folks understanding the complexity of this situation.
As a token of our gratitude, we are extending the triple rates for the Official Network until Wednesday, March 19.



Expire servers are temporary servers across the network that will eventually be removed, and you can find them by searching for "Expire" in the session filter.

These servers will be online until 10 am PST / 1 pm EST on March 24th. We're preemptively using our allocation for future maps to host some additional sessions that players can travel onto to farm, tame, and experience the newest content Gameplay. The same transfer restrictions apply in that you are only able to download your character, but you can freely take anything off. This is to help reduce load off some of the other servers, or provide players an option for those who just want to jump onto a new map temporarily.

Please note that these servers will no longer exist after 10 am PST / 1 pm EST on March 24th, so if you intend to use them, remember to transfer your items/creatures/characters off before that date, as nothing will be saved beyond that time period.

As a token of our gratitude for your patience during the server stability issues, we are extending the triple rates for the Official Network until Wednesday, March 19.

• PVP/PVE: 3x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience, and Breeding
  
• Small Tribes: 5.5x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience + 5x Breeding
  
• ARKpocalypse: 6x Harvesting, Taming and Experience, and Breeding
  

Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form



Creator: Xeridae
Xeridae attempts to survive 100 days conquering Scorched Earth with only one life.
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]

Creator: Chasun_
Make your very own Hobbit base with the help of Chasun!
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]



Bulbdog by @k3zk_627


Spoon by jammacle


Neo with his Tek Parasaur and Trinity with her raptor by cheshiregengarart


DLC Design by @dudziari


^-^ by KOKOC


Dodorex Funko custom by Moocow4life


Cyber Parasaur by Mon-ban-Delta




Photo Mode by godzilla402


Titan Trophy by @walken_a


Photo Mode by nesvog


Photo Mode by acq.mp3


War for the Wastes by cosmicman5455


Enjoy your weekend!
Studio Wildcard

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark

Discord: discord.com/invite/playark

Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark

Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark

Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark

Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110

Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark

Threads: threads.net/@survivetheark

Official Wiki: ark.wiki.gg

Last week, Megaraptor took the crown in the latest community creature vote and will be stomping its way onto Valguero when the map launches in ARK: Survival Ascended later this year. While you wait, a new animated skin pack is on the horizon, giving you more ways to customize your ARK with a fresh new look.



Download in full resolution

Get ready to complete your animated collection on March 26th! This massive pack is packed with a vibrant lineup of creatures and characters, ensuring you're well on your way to a full set of skins based on the ARK The Animated Series. Soon, you’ll be able to bring stunning new animated looks to your ARK and create your own adventures—all for $14.99!

This pack includes...

• Jane
  
• Chava
  
• Rebel Mei Yin
  
• New-Armor Mei Yin
  

Creature Skins:

• Anglerfish
  
• Araneo
  
• Archaeopteryx
  
• Baryonyx
  
• Basilosaurus
  
• Carbonemys
  
• Castoroides
  
• Chalicotherium
  
• Compy
  
• Dimetrodon
  
• Dire Bear
  
• Dung Beetle
  
• Electrophorus
  
• Gallimimus
  
• Giant Bee
  
• Hesperornis
  
• Hyaenodon
  
• Kaprosuchus
  
• Lystrosaurus
  
• Megalosaurus
  
• Megatherium
  
• Mosasaurus
  
• Onyc
  
• Ovis
  
• Pachyrhinosaurus
  
• Pegomastax
  
• Pelagornis
  
• Piranha
  
• Procoptodon
  
• Purlovia
  
• Rhyniognatha
  
• Terror Bird
  
• Titanoboa
  
• Titanosaur
  
• Troodon
  
• Tusoteuthis
  
• Woolly Rhino
  
• Achatina
  
• Allosaurus
  
• Arthropluera
  
• Beelzebufo
  
• Carcharodontosaurus
  
• Carnotaurus
  
• Coelacanth
  
• Dilo
  
• Dimorphodon
  
• Diplocaulus
  
• Diplodocus
  
• Direwolf
  
• Dunkleosteus
  
• Equus
  
• Ichthyornis
  
• Ichthyosaurus
  
• Iguanodon
  
• Kairuku
  
• Kentrosaurus
  
• Mammoth
  
• Manta
  
• Megaloceros (Male + Female)
  
• Megalodon
  
• Microraptor
  
• Moschops
  
• Oviraptor
  
• Pachy
  
• Paraceratherium
  
• Phiomia
  
• Plesiosaur
  
• Pulmonoscorpius
  
• Sabertooth Salmon
  
• Sarco
  
• Spino
  
• Tapejara
  
• Therizinosaur
  
• Thylacoleo
  
• Vulture
  

[previewyoutube]MODSPOLIGHTLINK[/previewyoutube]

Download & play new custom content created by players, including new maps, creatures, items, and game modes, through a dedicated new Mod-browser directly within the game. Enjoy an endless stream of new ARK content as the creativity and talent of the community is fully unleashed for the first time across gaming platforms and stay tuned as we spotlight more Cross-Platform Mods each week!

This video features:

• GigARK Islands by Geleako (premium)
• FSG Hologram Cosmetic by Kiz3rMomo
  
• Spooky Demon by MinyYamori
  
• SleepingGiants by Horrgamer
  
• Bullet Sci-Fi Essential Furniture & Utility Skins by Bullet_97
  
• Cyrus’ Outfits: Managarmr by CyrusCreates
  
• Flutter’s Knight Cosmetic by CyrusCreates
  
• Ultimate Muscle Roller Legend by Redgear17
  
• Maeguana Everywhere by EclipseModding
  
• Fantasy Age: Weapons by ScriptosaurusCR
  
• Cliffan’s Nautical Turrets by Cliffan_
  

ARKpocalypse servers have been wiped today!

What is ARKpocalypse?

• ARKpocalypse are monthly-wipe servers with higher than usual rates.
  
• Next wipe: April 4th, 20205

For this round, the following mods will be included: 

• ARKOLOGY: OE - Desolatitan by DragonHeart7998
  
• Cyrus' Critters: Magna Gecko by cyrusCreates
  
• Myrm's Custom Creations: Dracoteuthis by myrmecoleontidae
  
• Awesome Spyglass! by ChrisMods
  
• Better Breeding by Silentrizz
  
• Potions | Gaia Studios by GaiaStudios
  
• Ark Arsenal by W1K1P3D14
  

You can join them by searching in the server browser! Happy Surviving!




This weekend, the Official Network will be receiving bonus rates! It will be active until Monday, March 10.

• PVP/PVE: 3x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience, and Breeding
  
• Small Tribes: 5.5x Harvesting, Taming, and Experience + 5x Breeding
  
• ARKpocalypse: 6x Harvesting, Taming and Experience, and Breeding
  

Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form



Creator: Second Wave Survivors
Second Wave Survivors built a 5.6km long—totally safe—slide in ARK without any mods.
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]

Creator: Jimbob
Jimbob gets his first carnivore mount on Primal Astraeos—small but mighty!
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]



Forest Titan by @falco_luna


Ark art of the tamed gotten by Underdash by dinosareneat


Ark redesign is the T-Rex by shatteredreaiity


Chibi Murder Chicken by ellies-space36


3D printed Riffle with stand by posejdoon


"The Trike" Oil on canvas by TELLES


Deinonychus art doll handmade by sayvaris




This is Big John and Bertha by trench-surfer


Photo Mode by frozen_soap


Photo mode by izziekathryn


Photo mode by evildragon6058


I've been looking for a long time and finally found one... I'm so happy by @Moni8mok


Enjoy your weekend!
Studio Wildcard

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark

Discord: discord.com/invite/playark

Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark

Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark

Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark

Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110

Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark

Threads: threads.net/@survivetheark

Official Wiki: ark.wiki.gg

Survival takes a sharp turn this week as the community-voted winner sinks its claws into the spotlight! With its lightning speed and razor-sharp instincts, this prehistoric predator is set to shake up the ARK in ways we can’t wait to dive into! Meanwhile, on the LiveOps front, we’ve been kept on our toes. We’ll break it all down, along with the steps we’re taking to keep things running as smoothly as possible.





With over 32k votes, Megaraptor will be the new creature added to Valguero for ARK: Survival Ascended. We are looking forward to sharing its concept and dossier in the weeks to come!

If you are interested in seeing exactly how the voting went, check it out here.

* Note that we'll be reading through these threads and using them as inspiration for how the creature will be designed; aspects suggested may change.

Our hosting providers are facing a severe, ongoing DDoS attack, which has caused recent outages, including those over the past 48 hours. We're actively working with our partners to mitigate the issue, but as with these types of attacks, we don’t yet have an estimated resolution.

While our partners work on it, we've taken steps to protect player progress:

• Increased the upload timer to 72 hours (and we’ll extend it further if needed).
  
• Temporarily disabled decay timers to prevent loss of player progress.
  
• Taken certain regions offline to protect player data when necessary.
  
• Extending the time on Expire Servers to give everyone a chance to retrieve their characters and items. Once things are more stable, we’ll announce a date—don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of notice.
  

We're closely monitoring mitigation efforts with our partners, but please keep in mind that the situation may continue to evolve.

We’ll be holding on running an EVO event this week in light of the instability–we’ll look to do something nice for players in that regard when this is all resolved. 

Thanks for your patience and support while we work through this!



[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Download & play new custom content created by players, including new maps, creatures, items, and game modes, through a dedicated new Mod-browser directly within the game. Enjoy an endless stream of new ARK content as the creativity and talent of the community is fully unleashed for the first time across gaming platforms and stay tuned as we spotlight more Cross-Platform Mods each week!

This video features:

• Althemia Magic Ground by j26arkitecto
  
• Castles Keeps and Forts by ExileAcid
  
• Stylized Egypt Structure Skins by r0sered
  

Fan Art Gallery | Screenshot Gallery | Artist Feedback Form



Creator: Etholdir
Etholdir guides you a tour of his beautiful gardens on Astraeos!
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]

Creator: JoeLaFritt_ *international corner* JoeLaFritt has a helpful guide to help you start right on the mod ARK Descended!
JoeLaFritt te guide afin de t'aider à partir du bon pied sur le mod ARK Descended!
[previewyoutube]YOUTUBE URL[/previewyoutube]



Amidst the barren earth... by @ewo_zaur


Federation airborne by @TekARK_01


Fan Art by ._rosiiee_.


Mae-chan by @cat22nyaa


My fav yuty by widetyranitar


Fan Art by akeunyub


They're so silly and I needed to doodle by savvytabby




Photo Mode by godzilla402


Omg by tkgoji230


Juagku-style architecture by @oititukumono


A Greek Starter House! by lolsatlance


Photo Mode by targaryenreignn


Enjoy your weekend!
Studio Wildcard

Twitter: twitter.com/survivetheark

Discord: discord.com/invite/playark

Reddit: reddit.com/r/playark

Instagram: instagram.com/survivetheark

Twitch: twitch.tv/survivetheark

Steam: steamcommunity.com/app/346110

Youtube: youtube.com/survivetheark

Facebook: facebook.com/survivetheark

Threads: threads.net/@survivetheark

Official Wiki: ark.wiki.gg