ARK Survival Ascended Ragnarok release date, Bison, and other details

ARK Survival Ascended Ragnarok, the fifth official map ported from ASE, is scheduled to release on June 18, 2025. It was originally supposed to go live in April, but it's a reasonable delay, as the entire game is getting updated to Unreal 5.5 on June 2, and Ragnarok is going to be the first map to harvest its developmental benefits.

From Rolling highlands teeming with Ovis flocks to ominous dusty dunes, Ragnarok is one of the biggest maps to be ever introduced to ARK Survival Evolved, and now it's finally coming to the UE5 remaster.

With the engine upgrade, there will also be a restructuring of game files on June 2, which will cut down the size of the base ASA download. That means you'll likely have to re-download all existing ARKs (Scorched Earth, The Center, Aberration, and Extinction) and their assets separately. If so, this will also be the case with Ragnarok Ascended.

What else is coming with ARK Survival Ascended Ragnarok on June 18?

Bisons have very strict gender roles, apparently (Image via Studio Widlcard)

Much like all the official maps from the old game to be re-introduced in ARK Survival Ascended, Ragnarok will be a completely free download.

Other June 18 DLC releases for ARK

Studio Wildcard aren't pairing up the release of Ragnarok Ascended with a Bob's Tall Tales or similar peripheral DLC. However, there is indeed some other paid content coming on June 18: a Day Zero Expansion Pass for ARK Lost Colony.

The actual Lost Colony expansion is slated to go live on November 2025, and that is not being moved up. However, the developers have promised some exclusive gameplay content, with no further clarification. We'll learn more about it in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Also Read: ARK Survival Ascended is getting an official low-spec mode this summer

The Bison

What about free content? As par for the course, Ragnarok Ascended will indeed come with a free community-voted creature: the Bison. We are yet to learn its actual abilities and their intricacies, but the broader details are known.

As the official dossier confirms, the female Bisons will produce milk with unique recipes and nutritional properties, and it's implied you can even tame baby Wyverns with it. Meanwhile, the male Bisons are durable beasts of burden with a charge ability.

Here's everything we know about the Bison in greater detail.

What to expect from Ragnarok Ascended in the new engine

If you're unfamiliar with the Ragnarok map in the old game, it's no exaggeration to say it's one of the most celebrated maps. It was the first official ARK to have its exclusive original bosses, and very high-level dinos you could encounter out of the gate (depending on your spawn luck).

However, Ragnarok has some jank and development oversights to this day, so Ragnarok Ascended is its chance at being the definitive experience it was always meant to be.

As confirmed by level designer Jackson Lawrence, a lot of the layout is faithful to the original, but takes its artistic departures, including Labyrinths which are "easier" but with "higher stakes". It's almost certain that Griffins are now breedable, and Ice Wyverns are getting some "bonus features".

Check out our other guides on the game:

About the author

Sambit Pal is an esports Journalist on Gaming and MMO at Sportskeeda. He has Master's degree in English Literature. In his spare time, he is an amateur sleuth trying to trace the Riven Mafia in Warframe, and a recovering Bethesda modding addict. He also secretly enjoys action Roguelites, a severe lack of gitting gud notwithstanding.

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Edited by Sambit Pal