Ark: Survival Evolved is set to release a brand-new DLC, Ark: Aquatica, on July 15, 2025. The underwater-themed expansion will roll out as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of Ark: Survival Evolved, whose early-access version was first released on Steam in May 2015.
Over the past decade, Ark: Survival Evolved has made its mark in the survival genre and has proven to be immensely successful for its developer, Studio Wildcard. Owing to the sheer popularity of the game, the IP has since received a few different spin-off games alongside an animated series adaptation, simply titled Ark: The Animated Series. Despite getting a remastered version via Ark: Survival Ascended in 2023, the original game remains very popular, attracting tens of thousands of players every day on Steam alone. Now, the fanfare looks set to get a considerable boost, with a bunch of new content featured in the forthcoming major update.
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PostsThe Ark: Aquatica DLC, developed by Snail Games, finally received a release date of July 15. It is a non-canonical expansion for Ark: Survival Evolved that takes players to an underwater equivalent of the Ark, filled with a variety of mysterious locations and several new aquatic creatures. Firstly, the upcoming content drop brings five different deep-sea biomes, each existing at its own specific depth. Certain key factors, such as varying underwater pressure and oxygen levels, result in these locations housing distinct flora and fauna. There are 21 fresh additions to the list of Ark: Survival Evolved's creatures, including the dog-like Mudpuppy and the huge shell organism named Tridacna.
Ark: Aquatica DLC Release Date
July 15With the new Ark: Survival Evolved DLC's launch approaching, the general player opinion around the game seems far from positive. Judging by the numerous critical comments about the trailer on YouTube, fans are apparently still disappointed with Snail Games for using generative AI in a previous Ark: Aquatica trailer shared in March 2025. The newly uploaded release date trailer, which is rather short and straightforward, also didn't seem to have enough to excite the fans, with one of the comments labeling it as "lazy." Several comments also echo the community's displeasure with the developer pulling the plug on Ark: Survival Evolved's servers in 2023 in favor of supporting Ark: Survival Ascended, with a user stating "You guys abandoned this game..."
CloseGiven the kind of reception Ark: Aquatica's trailers have received till now, it will be interesting to see how the game's community reacts once the new expansion is out. For a strong chance of turning things around, the upcoming new experience would have to adapt Ark's dinosaur-taming gameplay into its underwater premise in a way that merits getting a good look from the game's existing user-base.
