Unreal Engine 5 recreation Ark Survival Ascended has split player opinion since its release. Putting a fresh price tag on the beloved survival game and continuing to struggle with performance issues and bugs hasn’t gone down too well. One thing most people can agree on, however, is that it looks absolutely beautiful. Taking that to the next level, one of the best fan-made Ark maps is being transformed into official partner DLC by developer Studio Wildcard. Inspired by Greek mythology, its early access release landed in October 2024, with plans for the premium launch to arrive later this year, but it’s now been brought forward.
Astraeos comes from modder ‘Nekatus,’ a creator who boasts some of the best Ark mods to their name. Among their previous creations, the dwarven-themed Svartalfheim map has been downloaded more than 1.4 million times, making it the most-downloaded community-created map for the remastered version of the survival game. Since its release, the early access version of Astraeos has already shot up to right behind it on that list, with over half a million Ark Survival Ascended players installing it.
Now, it’s being made official. “We are excited to announce that Astraeos, created by the talented Nekatus and sponsored by Nitrado, is ascending into being an official partner DLC,” Studio Wildcard writes in its latest Community Crunch blog. This announcement was originally planned to be a “premium map surprise” for June, it explains, but has now been brought forward, and will be arriving on Wednesday February 12 “as a full-fledged and fully supported DLC, instead of a premium mod.”
The new creation is an absolutely stunning realm, so it’s easy to see why it’s become so popular already. The Astraeos map features a vast 264 square kilometers of beautiful biomes, from picturesque beach stretches climbing all the way up to high, mountainous marble cliffs that overlook the verdant landscape. There are towering statues, dimly lit caverns, and even sakura blossoms.
To really wrap you in its fantastical setting, it also includes themed cosmetics and custom ships modeled after Greek Triremes. You can also expect plenty of challenges, including “powerful new bosses, alpha dino variants with enhanced loot, and a fearsome miniboss lurking in mysterious caves.” There are some good mythological creatures in there too – watch the trailer and you’ll catch a glimpse of a giant snake lady reminiscent of Medusa.
The Astraeos DLC for Ark Survival Ascended will launch on Wednesday February 12, priced at $14.99. It’ll be fully integrated with official server support, and Studio Wildcard notes that “it will grow over time as Nekatus continues to shape the world, adding new realms, updates, and challenges worthy of the gods.”
For even more prehistoric hijinks, take a look through the best dinosaur games on PC. Then, check in with the best fantasy games in 2025 as well.
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