How to Wipe an ARK: Survival Evolved Server

To wipe ARK server progress on ARK: Survival Evolved, save the world, stop the server, back up the ShooterGame/Saved folder, then remove the map save (.ark) plus the player (.arkprofile) and tribe (.arktribe) files from SavedArks. Leave the Config folder alone and your settings survive the wipe.

Below you will find what each file does, how to do a full wipe, lighter options such as a wild creature wipe, and how to plan a wipe day so your players are on board.

What a wipe removes, file by file

The ARK Wiki describes the ShooterGame/Saved folder as the home of all tribe, player and world data, as well as configuration files, logs and cluster data. That is why you never delete the whole folder: your settings live there too.

ShooterGame/Saved/
├── Config/LinuxServer/        (WindowsServer/ on Windows)
│   ├── GameUserSettings.ini   keep
│   └── Game.ini               keep
├── SavedArks/
│   ├── TheIsland.ark          world save
│   ├── *.arkprofile           player characters
│   └── *.arktribe             tribes
└── Logs/

If you set AltSaveDirectoryName, the wiki notes that the world save goes to that custom folder name instead, so look there. If the server is part of a cluster (-clusterid), transfer data for the cluster is kept separately from the map save.

Wipe ARK server saves step by step

1. Warn your players a few days ahead, and again in game just before, for example with cheat Broadcast Wipe in 10 minutes from the admin console. Our ARK server admin commands guide shows how to log in as admin.
2. Save the world with cheat SaveWorld, so the backup you take next is current.
3. Stop the server from the panel's Console.
4. Back up. On TheGameHosting, open Backups and create one. For a copy on your PC, download ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks from Files or over SFTP.
5. Open ShooterGame/Saved/SavedArks in Files. Delete the .ark file of your map, every .arkprofile and every .arktribe.
6. Leave ShooterGame/Saved/Config as it is. If you want new rates for the new season, edit GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini now.
7. Start the server. With no save to load, ARK builds a fresh world. Join, create a character and check that the settings are right.

Full wipe, character wipe or creature wipe

Not every server needs to delete everything. Pick the size of the reset your community wants:

The creature wipe is handy after you change spawn settings or when the map is crowded with high-level wild creatures nobody wants. Run DestroyWildDinos when the server is quiet, because the respawn takes a moment. If you change many settings at once, our ARK server settings guide explains rates, breeding and difficulty.

Deleting only the map save while keeping profiles and tribes sounds like a middle ground, but the results are hard to predict, because characters and tribes point to things that no longer exist. For a clean season, remove all three file types.

How to run a good wipe day

A wipe is a community event as much as a file operation. A few habits make it smooth:

• Fixed schedule. Announce the date and time in Discord at least a week ahead, and keep the same rhythm each season so players can plan.
• Say what changes. New map, new rates, new mods: list them in the announcement. If the map changes, it is set in the server's launch line (for example TheIsland at the start); check the Startup tab in the panel or ask us in the chat.
• Same time for everyone. Open the server at the announced minute, so no tribe gets a head start.
• Keep the old season. Keep the backup from before the wipe. Some groups like to load it later just to visit their old base.

Autosave and why it matters before a wipe

The wiki lists AutoSavePeriodMinutes with a default of 15, so the world on disk can be up to 15 minutes old at any moment. That is why the steps above run SaveWorld before the backup: you want the backup to match what players saw last, in case you ever need to restore it. The same habit helps before updates. The ARK Wiki recommends a backup before updating a server to a new release.

After the wipe

When the new world is up, check three things: that your admin password still works, that the rates feel right in the first hour, and that players can find the server. ARK is a heavy game; if you also changed mods for the new season, see how to add Workshop mods to an ARK server, and for what a server costs to run each month, ARK server cost.

Wipe days without the stress

On an ARK: Survival Evolved server from TheGameHosting the wipe is a few clicks: Backups before you start, Files or SFTP to clear SavedArks, and Console to start the new season. You can let moderators help with Users (sub-users with their own permissions) and see who changed what in Activity. The server runs 24/7 on AMD Ryzen 9950X / 7950X3D CPUs up to 5.7 GHz with DDR5 and NVMe, which keeps big saves loading fast, and DDoS protection is included.

ARK: Survival Evolved needs at least 8 GB of RAM, from $6.96 per month, with no slot limits. See the plans and pricing and use the code FULL2026 for 15% off for life.

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