Alone Season 13: World Championship Begins in Canadian Arctic, 10 Contestants from Seven Nations Compete for $500,000

Alone, the survival competition series on History, will launch its thirteenth season on June 17 2026. The new season, titled Alone: World Championship, will feature ten self‑documented contestants dropped into the Richardson Mountains of the Northwest Territories, 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

The show’s format remains unchanged. Each participant is isolated from all other humans and must survive as long as possible using a limited set of gear. They may withdraw at any time or be removed after a medical check‑in. The contestant who remains the longest wins a grand prize of $500,000. The prize was increased to $1 million in season 7 and has returned to $500,000 for the current season.

Season 13 is the first to bring a global roster to the series. The ten competitors come from the United States, Canada, Wales, Australia, Slovenia, Portugal, and New Zealand. The show’s producers selected seven countries to represent the world’s survival community. The lineup follows the international expansion that began with Alone Australia in 2023 and the upcoming Alone seasons in Belgium, Finland, and Denmark.

The location is the Richardson Mountains, a rugged range in the Northwest Territories that lies within the Arctic Circle. The terrain is tundra, with permafrost, low precipitation, and extreme cold. The environment is described as wet, cold, and unforgiving, with a high likelihood of encountering polar bears. The conditions are similar to those of season 11, which was set in the Arctic Circle near Inuvik, and the previous season 12, which was filmed in the Karoo Desert of South Africa.

Contestants are given a standard kit that includes clothing, first‑aid supplies, and a set of cameras for self‑documentation. In addition, each participant selects ten items from a pre‑approved list of 40. The chosen items typically include items for staying warm, cooking, building shelter, and securing supplies. The gear is limited to 65 pounds of camera equipment and the ten personal items.

The show’s production team has emphasized that the challenges are not only physical. Contestants must manage mental endurance, as the isolation can take a psychological toll. The series has documented moments of frustration, such as a contestant calling out her losses on camera, and moments of resilience, such as another contestant hunting for rabbit and ground squirrel to maintain nutrition.

History’s Alone premiered on June 18 2015 and has since filmed in a variety of remote locations, including northern Vancouver Island, Patagonia, Mongolia, the Great Slave Lake, Chilko Lake, and Labrador. The series has also spawned spin‑offs and international versions, such as Alone Australia and Alone seasons in Finland.

The World Championship format is expected to test contestants in a harsher environment than previous seasons. The Richardson Mountains present a combination of extreme cold, limited daylight during winter months, and a landscape that is largely treeless. Contestants will need to rely on their skills in fire‑making, shelter construction, and hunting or foraging to survive.

The season will be broadcast on History and will be available for streaming on the network’s digital platforms. Viewers can follow each contestant’s daily log, which includes footage of their survival strategies and personal reflections.

In summary, Alone: World Championship brings together a diverse group of survivalists to compete for $500,000 in one of the world’s most demanding environments. The season’s premiere on June 17 2026 marks the next chapter in the series’ long history of testing human endurance in remote wilderness.