Ark: Survival Evolved Launches Scandalous Aquatica DLC

Ark: Survival Evolved officially received the Ark: Aquatica expansion on July 15, 2025.

The Aquatica DLC launched with an introductory 40% discount, reducing the base price from $14.99 to $8.99 for a limited time.

While the base game was developed by Studio Wildcard and Snail, the Aquatica DLC was created by Snail Games.

The expansion, set in the underwater biome, brought 21 new aquatic creatures along with challenges of crushing deep-sea pressure, powerful currents, and drastic environmental shifts.

The game’s developer also announced that official servers will be available and supported through the end of 2025, with the possibility of extension. On top of that, Small Tribe official servers will be launching alongside the standard ones.

Regarding modding, a new DevKit is promised to be released in the coming weeks by the developer, allowing creators to update and optimize their mods for compatibility.

The DLC also brought at least four bosses: the crushing Vulcanithys serpent; massive crystals called Fractalis, which cause energy waves; as well as the unspecified Cymathoa and Pygocentrus.

Ark: Survival Evolved tasks players with survival on one of several maps filled with dinosaurs, fictional fantasy monsters, different prehistoric animals, natural hazards and potentially hostile other players.

The game is playable on Linux, macOS, and Windows PCs; PlayStation 4; Xbox One; Nintendo Switch; Xbox Series X|S; PlayStation 5; Nintendo Switch 2; and both Android and iOS platforms.

As of the time of writing, the game has a “Very Positive” rating on Steam with 554,150 reviews and an all-time peak of 248,405 concurrent players, according to SteamDB.

Earlier in 2025, the Ark developer faced community backlash for the controversial AI Aquatica trailer.

The game was turned into an animated TV series titled “Ark: The Animated Series” by Paramount+, with the first part released on March 21, 2024, and the second part set to premiere in 2025.