What kind of game is The Isle?
The Isle is an open-world survival game for PC in which you play as a dinosaur. You look for water and food, avoid predators and grow from a small juvenile into an adult, on one island shared with other players online. The dinosaur coming your way might be a herd mate, or a predator looking for its next meal.
The Steam store page lists Afterthought LLC as both developer and publisher, and the game has been in Early Access since 1 December 2015. That means it is still being developed and its systems can change with new patches.
- Developer and publisher
- Afterthought LLC
- Bought and played on
- Steam, PC
- Status
- Early Access since 1 Dec 2015
- Style
- Survival · online PvP
For the price and system requirements, check The Isle on Steam, as both can change with sales and patches.
What is Evrima?
Evrima is the current version of The Isle, the one the developer still patches. Steam patch notes call it the Evrima Public Branch, for example patch 0.21.772 in August 2026.
Evrima is not a separate game but a branch of The Isle on Steam: buy the game once and you can choose it. According to community wikis, a fresh install starts on the Legacy version, so you switch to Evrima once yourself in Steam's Betas tab. See how to switch the game to Evrima.
There is also Hordetest, a test round the developer opens from time to time to try new things before they reach Evrima. If you only want to join a server, you can ignore Hordetest.
Evrima vs Legacy
Legacy is the original version of The Isle; Evrima is the rebuilt version that still gets updates. Here is what a new player needs to know.
| Topic | Evrima | Legacy |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Current version, still patched | The original version; community sources say it has not been updated since about February 2022 |
| On Steam | Pick evrima in the Betas tab | What a fresh install starts on (per community wikis) |
| Server list | The two versions use separate server lists: a game running Legacy cannot see Evrima servers | |
| Survival Island | Playable | Not playable |
If you just bought the game and cannot find the Thai server, the first thing to check is whether the game still runs Legacy.
The Gateway map
Survival Island plays on the Gateway map. The Survival Island Companion app has a live map with your position, the Sanctuary, Migration and Patrol zones, water and boss pins, a round map over the game, and Alt + M to bring the app over the game, so new players do not get lost on day one.
How community servers work
Besides the developer's official servers, players and groups can run their own Evrima servers with The Isle Dedicated Server tool. Each one sets its own rules, player slots and extra systems; these are called community servers. Before you pick one, look at:
- Rules: a low rule server has few rules; others have stricter rules or focus on role play.
- Language and community: who you can talk to, and how you reach the team.
- Players and queue: bigger servers are livelier, but you may queue at busy times.
- Extra systems: voice chat, dino storage or events differ from server to server.
Survival Island is a player-run community server. It is not an official server and is not affiliated with Afterthought, the developer of the game.
Why play on a Thai server?
- You understand each other: proximity voice in the app lets you talk Thai with players near you, so herding up, bargaining or asking for help is easy.
- App and guide in Thai and English: the Survival Island Companion comes in both languages, with a searchable player guide inside.
- Thai time: four restarts a day at 00:00, 06:00, 12:00 and 18:00 Bangkok time (UTC+7), with a truce around each one.
- Simple rules: Low rule · No Toxic. Play hard, and respect each other outside the game.
- Help when you need it: report a bug with pictures in the app, or ask on the server's Discord.
Compare both servers side by side, or start now with how to play The Isle: Evrima.
Sources
- The Isle on Steam: developer, publisher, Early Access date
- The Isle news and patches on Steam: the Evrima Public Branch name and Hordetest
- Guild Order wiki: Evrima and Legacy branches: the branch a fresh install starts on, and Legacy not updated since February 2022
- LOW.MS: The Isle Evrima vs Legacy: Legacy frozen, the two versions not seeing each other's servers, and the name The Isle Dedicated Server