Every Icarus map is its own region you can drop into to gather resources, craft gear and survive. Olympus comes with the base game, while Styx, Prometheus and Elysium arrive through expansions: the Styx Expansion, New Frontiers and Dangerous Horizons. Each map has its own climate, wildlife and level of danger, so the map you pick shapes how your game plays out.
PC Access
Base Game
Olympus
The original 64 km² region pairs forests with desert and arctic terrain.
- Region Size
- 64 km² (8 × 8 km)
- PC Access
- Base Game
- Console Edition
- Included in the Console Edition base game
- Modes
- Missions, Open World
- Biomes
- Arctic, Desert, Forest
- Signature Hazards
- Extreme cold in Arctic and Southern Glacier; heat in Desert and Desert Canyons; aggressive wildlife in the forests.
- Notable Creatures
- Bear, Cougar, Elephant, Hyena, Sandworm
- Great Hunts Campaign
- Quarrite Campaign
- Outposts
- Holdfast Outpost is built on Olympus Riverlands forest.
- Map Release
- 2021-12-03
PC Access
Styx Expansion
Styx
A river-centered region with forest, desert and arctic areas linked by steep routes.
- Region Size
- 64 km² (8 × 8 km)
- PC Access
- Styx Expansion
- Console Edition
- Separate Styx Expansion available
- Modes
- Missions, Open World
- Biomes
- Arctic, Desert, Forest
- Signature Hazards
- Storm-heavy weather, steep terrain, arctic cold, desert heat, and World Blockers that restrict some routes until related missions are complete.
- Notable Creatures
- Crocodile, Kea, Komodo, Polar Bear, Snow Leopard
- Great Hunts Campaign
- Garganutan Campaign
- Outposts
- -
- Map Release
- 2022-05-27
PC Access
New Frontiers
Prometheus
A high-risk region with grasslands, swamps, tundra and volcanic terrain.
- Region Size
- 64 km² (8 × 8 km)
- PC Access
- New Frontiers
- Console Edition
- Included in the Console Edition through New Frontiers
- Modes
- Missions, Open World
- Biomes
- Arctic, Forest, Grasslands, Swamp, Tundra, Volcanic
- Signature Hazards
- Volcanic heat and lava; biome-specific ore distribution; the southern Null Sector is barren, resource-scarce and highly hazardous.
- Notable Creatures
- Arid Striker, Ashen Drake, Chala, Terrenus
- Great Hunts Campaign
- Rimetusk Campaign
- Outposts
- -
- Map Release
- 2023-08-24
PC Access
Dangerous Horizons
Elysium
A hostile region with arctic, desert, geothermal, swamp, tundra and volcanic areas.
- Region Size
- 64 km² (8 × 8 km)
- PC Access
- Dangerous Horizons
- Console Edition
- -
- Modes
- Missions, Open World
- Biomes
- Arctic, Desert, Geothermal, Swamp, Tundra, Volcanic
- Signature Hazards
- Radiation zones, extreme temperatures and deadly weather; Open World prospectors land in the tundra Crashsite biome.
- Notable Creatures
- Dreadwing, Gribbler, Storca, Sulfuric Spider
- Great Hunts Campaign
- -
- Outposts
- -
- Map Release
- 2026-03-05
What are the maps in Icarus?
Each map is its own region, with its own landscape. Olympus, the starting map, is built around arctic, desert and forest climates. Styx keeps those same three, while Prometheus swaps the desert for grassland, swamp, tundra and volcanic ground. Elysium mixes climates from the earlier maps and adds a new geothermal one.
Each climate is split into smaller biomes, and the temperature, creatures and ore change from one biome to the next. That is why choosing a map also means choosing the creatures and resources you'll face.
How do maps work in Icarus?
When you start an Open World, you choose the map, a difficulty and a drop zone, which is the spot where your character lands. Open World is the untimed mode where your settlement is permanent, and you can leave by dropship and come back later. Your buildings and storage stay where you left them, and you land in the same zone you first picked.
Missions are different, since they don't carry over the way an Open World does. Prospect-level missions, called Operations, start from the C0NT4CT Device, and they only run on the map you're on. That's why an Operation on Prometheus needs a Prometheus Open World, and it keeps each map's goals separate.
How do you get each Icarus map?
Olympus is included with the base game, so every player who owns it has access. Styx, New Frontiers (which opens Prometheus) and Dangerous Horizons (which opens Elysium) are paid expansions you add on top. On console, the edition bundles New Frontiers from the start, so Prometheus comes included.
Styx, Prometheus and Elysium each open with a starter mission, Omphalos, Nomad and Lost, which has to be finished before that map's other missions unlock. The Great Hunts add-on is separate, and some hunting campaigns on Olympus, Styx and Prometheus need it.
Which Icarus map should you play first?
Start with Olympus, since it's the map every player gets and the easiest one. Each map after it is harder than the one before, in the order Styx, Prometheus and Elysium.
Which map matters most depends on what you're after. Prometheus is the place for exotics, since Volatile Raw Exotics only appear there and can be turned into Stabilized Exotics. Elysium matters for its uranium, which you process into rods and send to orbit, and for Eden, the first permanent NPC settlement on Icarus.
Which Icarus maps are the most dangerous?
Prometheus is where terraforming broke down, so the land stayed wild and its wildlife mutated. Its southern end, Null Sector, is barren and short on resources, and you enter it by starting the Ashlands mission.
Elysium adds radiation to the cold. Handling any uranium product exposes you to radiation, and its landing zone is cold.
Drop zones vary even within one map, so one can be comfortable while another on the same map is cold and full of aggressive creatures. Checking each zone's temperature and creature ratings before you land is worth doing.
FAQ
Can I change the drop zone after I start an Open World?
No. The drop zone and difficulty are locked when you create the world. To land somewhere else or play on a different difficulty, you have to start a new Open World.
Do I need Dangerous Horizons to play Elysium?
Yes, Elysium only comes with Dangerous Horizons. The good news is that Tier 5 technology arrives with the free Kepler update, so most of the new tools don't require the expansion.
Why won't my Orbital Exchange Interface work on Elysium?
The standard Orbital Exchange Interface doesn't work there. You can use Eden's interface instead, or craft an Advanced Orbital Exchange Interface at a Tier 5 Manufacturer bench.
What are World Blockers in Icarus?
World Blockers are barriers that cut off shortcuts between biomes until a mission removes them. Styx has several, and each one is removed by a mission. In an Open World, they stay down for everyone in that world only while the prospector who finished those missions is active, and they go back up when that prospector leaves. Elysium has one, which the Relics mission unlocks, and you have to complete its Operation again in each new Open World.