Crossplay is the ability to play together with your friends, who play the same game on a different platform. Crossplay is connecting players regardless of their device choice and prevents you as the player from having to rebuy the game in order to play with your friends.
Crossplay in ARK Survival Evolved is possible, but it is limited. Certain platform combinations do work together but not all of them. In this article I will explain to you which platforms can play together and which platforms won’t.
Steam and Epic Store Crossplay in ARK
Steam and Epic Games Store is in my eyes the only true Crossplay combination out there, because both platforms are competitors. Crossplay between both platforms is possible under restrictions.
You have to enable crossplay via the start-up command in your server script. It is called:
-crossplayIn order to have the server compatible to support Crossplay, it can’t have mods enabled and it can’t make the use of mod maps like Svartalfheim, because Epic Game Store does not support mods and probably won’t in the future. Both versions have the Export Dino option to use in ARK Smart Breeding.
Windows Store and Xbox ARK Crossplay
The next combination is the Windows Store version of ARK Survival Evolved and the Xbox console. This is also the only time console and PC can natively work together, because the Windows Store version is actually the Console Version just on the PC.
The server can either be hosted via the Windows 10 Store version or you rent a server on hosters like Nitrado (*) that offer Xbox Servers.
There are also some restrictions here—Xbox and Windows 10 cannot use mods, and they also don’t have the Export Dino option to use with ARK Smart Breeder.
PS4 and PS5 ARK Crossplay
Calling those two Crossplay is almost unneeded. PlayStation 4 and 5 are basically the same platform for ARK. When you rent an ARK Server make sure that the hoster can support both platforms. Nitrado for example does not offer servers for both.
Since both are consoles you can neither use Mods nor the Export Version for ARK Smart Breeding.
Android and iOS ARK Crossplay
The mobile Version of ARK on the iPhone and on Android are basically the same game, and therefore they can also make the use of Crossplay servers. These can be rented, or you can even join official servers together if you want to.
The mobile Version is heavily restricted, and the development is finalized. Only “The Island” as a map exists and is heavily modified to fit the mobile platform, but it is free.
FAQ ARK Crossplay:
Is ARK Crossplay for Xbox and PS4?
Unfortunately ARK is not crossplay between Xbox and PS4. Both companies are direct competitors and have no interest in cooperating to make Crossplay possible.
Are there official ARK Crossplay Servers?
Yes there are. Wildcard offers several “CrossARK” PvE and PvP Servers. Just search for “CrossARK” in your server search in game.
Can consoles and PC in ARK play together?
PC and Consoles in ARK can only play together when the console is an Xbox and the PC-Version is the Windows 10 Store version.
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