If you have ever opened The Isle on Steam and wondered why your friends are playing a completely different-looking game with different dinosaurs, you have run into the branch system. The Isle ships multiple game versions side by side, and picking the wrong one is the most common reason new players (and new server owners) end up confused, unable to connect, or staring at a roster that does not match what they expected. This guide breaks down the three branches you will actually encounter in 2026 — Evrima, Legacy, and the Gateway/hordetest test branch — so you know exactly what each one is and which to run.
The quick version
When you buy The Isle on Steam, the Legacy build installs by default. Evrima is the modern Early Access rebuild on Unreal Engine 5, and you opt into it through Settings > Betas > EVRIMA Public Branch. The hordetest branch (often associated with the Gateway test builds) is where the developers trial new animals and changes before they reach the public Evrima branch. Almost the entire active community and nearly every commercial host today runs Evrima, so that is what you will want for a new server.
Evrima: the current public branch
Evrima is the ground-up rewrite that defines modern The Isle. It runs on Unreal Engine 5 with better visuals, a faster and more dynamic combat system, and survival systems Legacy never had — diet nutrients, scent vision, bleed mechanics, and group nesting. It is also more demanding on hardware and, being Early Access, less optimized, so frame drops on busy servers are normal. The single live map for Evrima is Gateway, which replaced the older Isla Spiro and is built around wallowing holes, migration zones, nesting grounds, and watering holes.
The Evrima playable roster sits at roughly 28 species as of mid-2026. Importantly, Triceratops is fully playable on the public branch — it graduated from hordetest with patch 0.20.109 on June 22, 2025, bringing its Flip Attack, improved sideways movement, and a Thrash move. Anyone telling you Trike is “Legacy-only” or “still on the roadmap” is working from outdated information.
- Carnivores: Carnotaurus (fast apex land predator), Ceratosaurus, Dilophosaurus, Allosaurus, Herrerasaurus, Omniraptor, Troodon, Austroraptor, Baryonyx, and Deinosuchus (semi-aquatic ambusher).
- Omnivores: Gallimimus (eats frogs, crabs, eggs, hatchlings and plants — and digs up buried food) and Beipiaosaurus.
- Herbivores (9): Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Diabloceratops, Maiasaura, Tenontosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Dryosaurus, Hypsilophodon, and Kentrosaurus.
- Flyer: Pteranodon.
- Not yet playable: Spinosaurus and Giganotosaurus remain in development — do not expect them on a live server.
A few mechanics catch new players (and writers) out. Pounce/latch is shared across Troodon, Omniraptor, Herrerasaurus, and Austroraptor, while Allosaurus has its own heavyweight pounce — it is not one species’ gimmick. And Psittacosaurus’s burrow in Sandbox is a shelter ability for hiding from predators; it does not dig up food. If you are still learning the ropes, our Evrima first-life survival guide walks through staying alive long enough to grow up.
Legacy: the old build, still installed by default
Legacy is the original version of The Isle, and it is what Steam downloads unless you change branches. It carries a far larger roster of playable dinosaurs and the older maps — Thenyaw Island and Isle V3 — and some players still prefer it for nostalgia or the sheer dinosaur count. The trade-off is that Legacy receives little active development; the studio’s attention is on Evrima. For a community server you intend to grow in 2026, Legacy is generally a dead end.
Gateway / hordetest: the public test branch
The hordetest branch is the public testing ground where new animals, balance passes, and Gateway map changes are stress-tested before going live on Evrima. The Triceratops, for example, spent its testing phase on hordetest servers before the public 0.20.109 release. It is opt-in like Evrima but explicitly unstable — wipes, bugs, and reverts are expected. Treat it as a preview environment, not a place to build a persistent community server. There is also a separate Test Level map used purely for trying out controls and a dinosaur’s capabilities, complete with AI pads and portals rather than natural terrain.
Branch comparison at a glance
| Aspect | Evrima (public) | Legacy | Hordetest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine / visuals | Unreal Engine 5, modern | Older build | UE5, same as Evrima |
| Maps | Gateway | Thenyaw, Isle V3 | Gateway test builds + Test Level |
| Roster size | ~28 species | Larger legacy roster | Evrima + experimental animals |
| Stability | Early Access, mostly stable | Stable but stale | Unstable, wipes expected |
| Best for | Live community servers | Nostalgia / variety | Previewing upcoming content |
Which branch should you host?
For nearly every server owner the answer is Evrima. It is where the players are, where the active updates land, and where the survival mechanics that make The Isle compelling actually live. If you want a server that is ready for friends or a public community, spin up an Evrima server in minutes and point your players to the EVRIMA Public Branch in their Steam betas tab. For the exact in-panel steps — switching branches, managing the playable dinosaur list, and applying config — see our The Isle setup docs. And once your server is live, the best apex dinosaurs guide helps your community pick where to invest their grind.
Frequently asked questions
Is Triceratops playable in Evrima or only Legacy?
Triceratops is fully playable on the Evrima public branch. It launched there with patch 0.20.109 on June 22, 2025, after testing on hordetest, and brings the Flip Attack, improved strafing, and the Thrash move. It is one of the nine current Evrima herbivores.
How does the diet/nutrient growth bonus actually work?
Eating to fill one nutrient gives +15% growth, two different nutrients +30%, and all three balanced (the //S triple) +50% growth. That balanced triple gives +50% growth and a stamina-regen bonus (up to +15%). Scent and night-vision range buffs are separate: they come from concentrating the // nutrient (roughly +25% range on a triple-//, about +10% on a 2-1 // mix), not from balancing your diet.
Can I just leave my dinosaur standing still to stop bleeding?
No. Bleed ticks continuously even while you are standing still, and moving or sprinting only speeds it up. A stationary dino can absolutely bleed out and die. The only way to stop bleeding is to wallow in mud.
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