ARK Aquatica DLC: Hundreds of Mods Broken and Servers Disrupted

ARK: Aquatica’s Launch – A Deep Dive into the Ocean and Controversy

On the surface, ARK: Aquatica looked like a thrilling, oceanic evolution of ARK: Survival Evolved (ASE). Billed as a celebratory expansion for the game’s 10th anniversary, Aquatica arrived in June 2025, offering a unique biome almost entirely underwater. But beneath the surface, it’s become a shipwreck of technical issues, broken mods, and community outrage.

Developed by Snail Games—not Studio Wildcard—the DLC is a non-canonical map, meaning it’s not part of ARK’s main storyline. Instead, it’s designed to showcase a massive underwater environment filled with new dangers, creatures, and gear. Unfortunately, what should have been a triumphant release has sparked widespread backlash.

Stunning New Features: A Subaquatic World Unlike Any Other

Aquatica delivers a visually mesmerizing environment that flips traditional ARK gameplay upside down—literally. With 95% of the map submerged, players must master ocean navigation, combat, and survival.

🌊 Key Highlights of ARK: Aquatica

• Setting: A sunken Ark lies partially exposed at the surface, while most gameplay takes place underwater.

• Creatures: Adds 17 to 21 new creatures, from deep-sea behemoths to stealthy aquatic predators.

• Engrams: Between 60 and 74 new blueprints, including gear like lead boots, which allow players to walk on the ocean floor, and TEK Air Pockets for submerged base building.

• Biome Variety: From coral forests to volcanic thermal vents, the map offers a wide array of marine zones.

• Release: Available on PC via Steam only; console support has not been announced.

Snail Games describes Aquatica as a “standalone experience” meant to celebrate what made ARK popular—exploration, base-building, and survival—but with a twist. However, its unexpected design changes have introduced severe compatibility issues with existing community content.

Mod Mayhem: 95% of Mods Reportedly Broken

The joy of diving into a new map quickly turned into panic for server administrators and modded players. Aquatica's engine-level changes have rendered the vast majority of mods nonfunctional.

🛠️ What Broke?

• Popular Mods: Structures+, Dino Storage V2, Shinies, RP Decor, and more have either crashed on load or failed to function properly.

• Community Impact: Server owners are reporting widespread failure across clusters, some affecting entire player bases, and others leading to lost data.

• Modders Quitting: A worrying trend has emerged—many major modders are reportedly stepping away from ARK altogether, citing burnout and lack of support from Snail Games.

On Reddit, one user stated bluntly:

“The majority of mods are about to break forever. A lot of big modders have quit too :(.”
— u/RaptorRageX

Worse, some fear this was part of a strategic push to make modded ASE servers obsolete, nudging players toward ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA), the Unreal Engine 5 remaster.

Steam Explodes: Poor Reviews and Rollback Branch Launched

As negative feedback surged, Snail Games responded by launching a “pre-Aquatica” rollback branch on Steam.

🔁 What is the Rollback Branch?

• A beta branch that restores the game to its pre-Aquatica state, allowing server admins and players to keep their modded setups.

• Does not include Aquatica content.

• Can only be activated manually via Steam (under game properties > betas).

• Meant as a temporary solution while the development team investigates mod compatibility.

This move slightly softened the outrage, but many in the community see it as too little, too late.

💬 Developer Promises (and Pushback)

• Snail Games claims it will help fix or rebuild broken mods.

• DevKit updates are in the works, but no ETA has been given.

• Modders are skeptical: several assert they were not consulted and have no access to backend tools needed to adapt their mods to the new environment.

In one Reddit thread, a player wrote:

“The devs keep saying they’ll help fix the mods, but they don’t even have the rights or contact with the modders.”

Community Workarounds and Server Survival

Many server admins are now advising players not to update their game or servers until compatibility is resolved. Others are outright disabling Steam auto-updates and instructing communities to:

1. Use the rollback branch.

2. Back up saves and configs immediately.

3. Stay off official servers, as these are now Aquatica-only.

4. Monitor modding Discords for DevKit updates and recompiled mods.

A growing number of players are also migrating to unofficial mod-friendly server providers, hoping for more control during the transition.

Was Aquatica Rushed?

The backlash raises a deeper question: was ARK: Aquatica released too soon?

Given that the content was handled by Snail Games—not Studio Wildcard—and lacked advance warning about major backend changes, many suspect the release was rushed to meet the franchise’s anniversary deadline. With no clear upgrade path for existing mods and minimal communication with modding teams, the result has been catastrophic.

Final Thoughts: A Stunning World, But at What Cost?

ARK: Aquatica offers one of the most beautiful and creative environments the franchise has seen. But it's also become a cautionary tale in live-service game management. With 95% of mods broken, server ecosystems shattered, and modders walking away, the expansion has damaged the very foundation that made ARK thrive—its community.

Snail Games may still win back support if it follows through with DevKit updates and better communication. But for now, the seas of Aquatica are choppy, and many survivors are choosing to stay ashore.

Quick Summary

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Useful Links

• ARK: Aquatica Steam Store
• ARK Website
• ARK: Aquatica Wiki