ARK: Survival Evolved: How to Select the Preaquatica Branch

Understand which ARK build the branch selects

Preaquatica is the public branch of ARK: Survival Evolved from before the Aquatica launch update. The publisher introduced it during the July 2025 compatibility problems and later confirmed its permanent availability. It is an ASE branch rather than an ARK: Survival Ascended option. [1] [2]

Select the branch in Steam

Steps

1. Right-click ARK: Survival Evolved in your Steam Library and open Properties. [1]
2. Open Betas, then Beta participation, and choose preaquatica. This is the exact branch name supplied by the publisher. [1]
3. If the branch is not visible, exit or restart Steam and check again, following the publisher’s instruction. [1]

Check the client, server and ownership scope

The announcement makes the branch available for both clients and dedicated servers. It also says Aquatica owners can select it to return to their mods while the launch problems were addressed. The later permanence confirmation is why the branch is listed here beyond that original incident; this guide does not assert compatibility for an untested individual mod or server. [1] [2]