The Center is the first additional map released for Ark: Survival Ascended—and we have finally arrived at the moment we’ve all waited for.
After a troubled release period, Ark: Survival Ascended is set for continuous updates through the end of 2025, providing additional maps, creatures, and additional content for players to enjoy, giving you a near-endless adventure.
Among those new updates is The Center map, and we’ve got all the details you need about this piece of DLC.
The Center release date & time in Ark: Survival Ascended
Ark: Survival Ascended‘s The Center is due for release on June 4, 2024, and we can confirm the content goes live at 9pm CT, and also June 5, 2024 at 3am BST.
The Center is the first additional map for Ark: Survival Ascended and was originally slated for a launch at the end of February 2024. After numerous delays, though, its June release is finally at hand.
Studio Wildcard revealed the release date for The Center via the April 5 Community Crunch, where the dev also gave a sneak preview into what we can expect when the free DLC drops. The Shastasaurus, a massive new world “double the size of The Island,” and a “Tolkien-fantasy feel,” will be included in the update.
The Center was intended to drop in May 2024, two months after Scorched Earth was released. But the timeframe was changed by Studio Wildcard in an announcement on Discord before then being altered again. It wasn’t until early April that we finally received the final launch date.
When The Center was brought forward, the release of Scorched Earth was pushed back slightly to April 1, and it has now reclaimed the title of being the first DLC map for Ark: Survival Ascended. No updated timeframes have been revealed for other maps.
What content does The Center include?
The Center’s biggest feature is the new map, which was first released for Ark: Survival Evolved in May 2016. Unlike other DLCs in the original game, The Center was included as a free bonus and did not require a separate purpose.
The Center is vastly different from The Island, Ark’s original map, and includes deep oceans with two underwater domes that can be used to build bases, a large natural bridge connecting the snow biome and the Redwood biome, an island with lava rivers, an island in the shape of a skull, and a massive underground system.
While the initial release of The Center in Ark: Survival Evolved did not provide new creatures, The Center’s arrival on Ark: Survival Ascended will come with the Gigantoraptor as an exclusive creature that cannot be found on other Ark maps naturally in the wild, as well as the newly-announced Shastasaurus.
Will The Center be free for those who own Ark: Survival Ascended?
Yes, The Center map does not require an additional purchase. All DLC maps in Ark: Survival Ascended are included in the purchase price for the base game—although some additional paid content is available.
Each new map in Ark: Survival Ascended will come alongside an “Adventure Pack” that includes exclusive cosmetic items and in-game content, but the full details of what’s included in the pack for The Center have yet to be revealed.
