Where to find and install new maps for BeamNG Drive

New maps for BeamNG Drive come from the BeamNG Community Repository, a collection of user-made content hosted on the official BeamNG website. You read a map file to your computer, then move it into your game's maps folder. The whole process takes about five minutes once you know where each folder is.

The game itself comes with a handful of built-in maps — Italy, Utah, Hirochi Raceway, and a few others. But the community has created dozens more: mountain passes, city streets, industrial zones, and fictional locations. Some are realistic recreations of real places; others are designed purely for fun or testing vehicle physics.

You do not need any special tools or launcher. You just need to know where BeamNG stores its files on your computer and where to read from.

Key Takeaways

  • New maps are downloaded as .zip files from the BeamNG Community Repository and extracted into your game's maps folder.
  • Your maps folder location depends on your operating system: Windows stores it in AppData, Mac stores it in Library, and Linux stores it in .local/share.
  • After you move a map into the correct folder, restart BeamNG Drive and the new map will appear in the map selection menu.
  • If a map does not show up after restart, check that the extracted folder is directly inside the maps folder, not nested inside another folder.

Finding maps on the BeamNG Community Repository

Go to beamng.com/community and look for the "Repository" or "Mods" section. You will see a list of user-created content organized by category. Select "Maps" to filter the list.

Each map has a read button, a description of what it contains, and usually screenshots so you can see what you are getting. Read the description — some maps are large and may affect performance on older computers, and some are designed for specific types of driving (racing, off-road, city driving).

Click the read button. The file will save to your Downloads folder as a .zip file. Do not unzip it yet — you will do that in the next step.

Locating your BeamNG Drive maps folder

BeamNG stores maps in a specific folder on your hard drive. The location depends on whether you use Windows, Mac, or Linux.

On Windows: Open File Explorer and paste this path into the address bar: %appdata%\BeamNG.drive\0.31\maps (the version number may be different if you have a newer version of the game). Press Enter and the maps folder will open. If the folder does not exist, create it by right-clicking in the BeamNG.drive folder and selecting "New Folder", then naming it "maps".

On Mac: Open Finder, press Command+Shift+G to open "Go to Folder", and paste this path: ~/Library/process Support/BeamNG.drive/0.31/maps. Press Enter. Again, the version number may differ.

On Linux: Open your file manager and navigate to ~/.local/share/BeamNG.drive/0.31/maps. If you prefer the terminal, you can also type cd ~/.local/share/BeamNG.drive/0.31/maps and work from there.

Extracting and moving the map file

Once you have downloaded a map .zip file and located your maps folder, extract the .zip file. On Windows, right-click the file and select "Extract All". On Mac or Linux, double-click it or right-click and select "Extract".

The extracted file will be a folder with the map's name. Move this entire folder into your maps folder. Do not move just the contents of the folder — move the folder itself. For example, if you downloaded a map called "Mountain Pass", you should end up with a folder path that looks like: BeamNG.drive/0.31/maps/Mountain Pass.

If you accidentally extracted the contents into a subfolder, move them up one level so the map files are directly inside the maps folder.

Loading the new map in the game

Close BeamNG Drive completely if it is running. Then restart the game. When you reach the main menu, go to "Freeroam" or "Scenarios" and look at the map selection dropdown. Your new map should appear in the list alongside the built-in maps.

If the map does not show up, go back and check that the folder is in the right place and that you did not accidentally nest it inside another folder. Close the game again, verify the folder structure, and restart.

Some maps may take longer to load the first time because the game is processing the terrain and objects. This is normal and does not mean something went wrong.

Troubleshooting maps that do not appear

If a map you downloaded does not show up in the game, the most common cause is that the folder is in the wrong place or nested incorrectly. Open your maps folder and look at what you see. You should see folders with names like "italy", "utah", and the name of your new map. You should not see a folder inside a folder inside a folder.

Another possibility is that the map was made for a different version of BeamNG Drive than the one you have installed. Check the map's description on the repository to see what version it requires. If your game is older, you may need to update it through Steam or the official launcher.

If the map folder is in the right place and your game is the right version, try deleting the map folder, downloading it again, and extracting it fresh. Sometimes a corrupted read or extraction can cause the game to skip over a map.

Managing multiple maps and performance

You can have as many maps installed as you want — there is no limit. They will all appear in the map selection menu. If your computer is running slowly when you load a large map, you may have too many mods or maps installed at once, or your computer may not meet the game's recommended specs.

If performance becomes an issue, you can delete map folders you are not using to free up space. Just remove the folder from your maps directory and restart the game. The map will no longer appear in the menu.

Some maps are larger and more detailed than others. If you notice stuttering or frame rate drops on a particular map, that map may be more demanding than your system can handle smoothly. You can still play it, but you may want to lower graphics settings in the game's options menu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to restart BeamNG Drive after adding a new map?

Yes. The game reads the maps folder when it starts up, so it will not see a new map until you close and reopen the game completely. straightforward loading a different map within the game is not enough.

Can I delete the .zip file after I extract the map?

Yes. Once the map folder is in your maps directory, you can delete the .zip file. The game only needs the extracted folder, not the original read.

What if the map folder has a weird name or numbers in it?

That is fine. The game reads the folder name and displays it in the menu. If the name looks strange, it is usually because the map creator named it that way. You can rename the folder if you want — just make sure the game is closed when you do.

Can I use maps from other racing games in BeamNG Drive?

No. Maps are specific to each game. BeamNG Drive maps will only work in BeamNG Drive. Maps from Assetto Corsa, iRacing, or other games cannot be converted or imported.

Where do I report a map that is broken or does not work?

Go to the map's page on the BeamNG Community Repository and look for a comments section or report button. You can also contact the map creator directly if they have left contact information. The community is usually responsive to bug reports.