Valheim crossplay: play across PC, Xbox, PS5 and Switch 2

⚡ The short answer

Yes. Since version 1.0, released on 9 September 2026, Valheim has crossplay between all its platforms: PC (Steam and Microsoft Store), Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. On a dedicated server there's one important catch: crossplay has to be switched on. Otherwise only Steam players can see the server and join it.

🧭 Two ways to play together

• A game hosted by a player. Someone opens their world with crossplay enabled and shares the join code with the others. The world is only open while that person is playing.
• A dedicated server. The world is always open and nobody has to stay connected. The server program is for PC (Windows and Linux): you can't run a dedicated server on a console, but you can join one from it.

⚙️ Enabling crossplay on the server

A Valheim dedicated server can run on two networks. By default it uses Steam's, and then it only exists for Steam players. With the -crossplay launch parameter it switches to the crossplay network (PlayFab), which accepts players from any platform. According to the official dedicated server guide, that has two practical consequences:

• The connection goes through a relay server, so you don't need to forward ports on your router for players to get in.
• A crossplay server can't be joined through its local IP address.

If you run it yourself, add -crossplay to the launch line: it's in start_headless_server.bat on Windows and in start_server.sh on Linux. At ZentexNode there's nothing to edit: crossplay is an option in the panel. You turn it on, restart the server, and that's it.

🔑 How players get in: the join code

With crossplay on, the server gets a join code. It shows up in the server console at startup and, for anyone already inside, in the game's pause menu. To join, on any platform:

• Open Join Game.
• Select Add server and enter the code.
• Type the server password.

The code isn't permanent: a new one is generated every time the server starts. If someone can't get in with yesterday's code, check the current one in the console and share it with the group again.

👥 Worth knowing beforehand

• Players: Valheim is designed for groups of 1 to 10 players, in 1.0 as well.
• Characters: each player joins with the character saved on their own platform. There's no save sync between platforms, except between Xbox and the Microsoft Store version on PC.
• Mods: there is no mod support on console. A mod that has to be installed on the client locks console players out; we cover it in how to install mods in Valheim.
• Admins: in the adminlist.txt file each admin goes on its own line, in the format Platform_ID. Each player's ID appears in the server log and in the panel that opens with F2 in game.

🚑 If someone can't get in

What happens	What to check
Console players can't see the server	Crossplay isn't enabled on the server, or it wasn't restarted after enabling it.
The code doesn't work	It's from before the last restart. Copy the current one from the console.
The crossplay option is missing on Xbox	The account's parental controls may be blocking it.
Only console players fail and the server runs mods	One of the mods has to be installed on the client. Try without mods.

🌍 Carrying on with the world you already have

If your group already has a world going in someone's own game, there's no need to start over: you can move it to the server, as we explain in how to upload your Valheim world to the server. And if you don't have anywhere to host it yet, a Valheim server with crossplay keeps the world open for the whole group, whatever each person plays on.