ARK Genesis Ascended Server Setup (Genesis_WP)

ARK Genesis Ascended server setup (Genesis_WP)

On July 3, 2026 Studio Wildcard shipped three things at once, and the resulting confusion is the reason most people land here: one of them is free, two of them cost money, and only one of them is a map you can point a server at.

Last verified: August 2, 2026.

What actually shipped, and what it costs

Genesis Ascended Part 1 and Tides of Fortune are separate Steam products released on the same day, which is why so many write-ups have the free and paid halves swapped. If you own ARK: Survival Ascended, the map costs you nothing.

The map identifier is Genesis_WP

ARK: Survival Ascended maps are passed to the server as a world name ending in _WP. The identifier for Genesis Ascended Part 1 is Genesis_WP, which we confirmed directly in the dedicated server build's file manifest (Content/Maps/Genesis/Genesis_WP.umap) rather than from a community guess. At the time of writing the official community wiki has not published it.

ArkAscendedServer.exe Genesis_WP?listen?SessionName=My Genesis Server?ServerAdminPassword=YourPwd -port=7777 -WinLiveMaxPlayers=16

Notes that trip people up:

• The map name is case-sensitive on Linux. genesis_wp will not boot.
• ServerAdminPassword must be the last query argument. See the dedicated server setup guide for the full launch-argument reference.
• The server build is Steam app 2430930, the same one every other map uses. There is no separate Genesis server download.
• Default ports are UDP 7777 (game), 7778 (peer), 27015 (query), with TCP 27020 for RCON.

If the map content does not appear after switching, revalidate the build:

steamcmd +login anonymous +force_install_dir /opt/asa-server +app_update 2430930 validate +quit

Do all your players need to buy Tides of Fortune?

No, and this is the single most useful thing to know before you announce a Genesis server to your group. Tides of Fortune behaves differently from the paid maps you may have run before.

The ocean biome itself and basic sailing come with the free Genesis Ascended Part 1. Tides of Fortune is what unlocks actually building and crewing the Sloop and Brigantine at a Shipyard.

So a tribe where three people bought the Adventure Pack and two did not still functions. The two without it can crew someone else's ship and play the map normally, they just cannot lay down their own hull. Decide as a group before you build the server around naval content.

The paid-map rule, for contrast

If you are coming from Lost Colony or Astraeos, the rule there is stricter and worth restating because it catches admins out: the server operator does not need to own the DLC, but every connecting player does. A player who has not bought it fails to load the map rather than getting a useful error.

Astraeos adds one more wrinkle, since it is a sponsored partner map: it needs ActiveMapMod=988598 under [ServerSettings] in GameUserSettings.ini. Without that line the map identifier alone is not enough. Full detail in the Astraeos setup guide and Astraeos free vs paid. Genesis Ascended Part 1 needs no equivalent line, because it is a first-party free map.

The thing that actually breaks: v91

Genesis shipped with server build v91, and v91 changed how the dedicated server boots. It now initialises a display window and DX12 at startup, which instantly kills servers on headless Linux and Proton setups unless the launch provides a virtual display plus WineD3D and DX11.

Two things to understand about the timing:

• The breakage follows the binary, not the map. Servers that had not yet pulled v91 kept running fine, which is why admins reported "Ragnarok works but Island doesn't" and concluded the map was at fault. It was the build.
• You control when you take it. Patch on your own schedule rather than letting an unattended update decide.

Symptoms and the verified fix are in why the server won't start after v91. Take a backup before you update.

Disk and memory

The July drop inflated the client enormously, to roughly 328 GB including a single 154 GB asset file. The dedicated server build is far leaner at around 12 GB, because the bloat is client-side assets. Do not size your server from client install figures you see quoted in forum threads.

Memory is the constraint that matters. Genesis is a large map with a heavily simulated ocean, so treat it like Lost Colony rather than like The Island: budget your usual baseline plus meaningful headroom and watch real usage across the first few hours. See hardware sizing and when to upgrade on sustained CPU.

Clusters, and the Dragontopia decision

Genesis Ascended Part 1 slots into a cluster like any other map: run it alongside your existing servers sharing a -clusterid= value and a -ClusterDirOverride= path. See cluster setup.

Dragontopia needs an explicit decision instead of a default. It is non-canonical, meaning its content is not intended to transfer into the story-map cluster. If you run a cluster, decide whether Dragontopia creatures and gear are in or out, write it down, and tell your players before someone spends a week raising a dragon they cannot bring home. Because it also rolls out in waves through October and December, revisit that decision as each drop lands.

Common first-boot issues

Related articles

• How to set up an ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server
• Server won't start after the v91 update
• Lost Colony server setup
• Astraeos server setup
• Full DLC roadmap, free vs paid
• 2026 patch tracker
• Cluster setup

If you would rather not hand-manage launch arguments and patch timing, managed ARK: Survival Ascended hosting runs on AMD EPYC hardware with backups and a region picker.