Valheim crossplay server: PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch 2

Valheim 1.0 came out on 9 September 2026, and with it PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 can finally play together. For a group of friends on different devices, that’s great news. On your own dedicated server you turn on crossplay with a single setting, and your friends then join with a six-digit join code or the IP address. Here’s how it works and what to watch out for.

What changed with 1.0?

In June, Iron Gate announced that Valheim 1.0 would launch on PC, Linux, Mac, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and for the first time also on PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, with full crossplay between every platform. Alongside crossplay, 1.0 added a new biome: the Deep North.

Playing on an existing world? According to the official 1.0 FAQ, older worlds get the new content too, but only in areas you haven’t explored yet. Iron Gate recommends a fresh world for the best experience, but you don’t have to start over.

Turning on crossplay on your server

On a dedicated server, crossplay is a separate mode. According to the official Iron Gate server guide, the server then lets players from any platform join; it registers with the crossplay service and receives a join code. Rather not run it yourself? You can get Valheim server hosting with crossplay from us. In our game panel it works like this:

1. Make a backup of your server.
2. Go to Startup and set Crossplay to 1.
3. Leave BepInEx mods at 0. On our servers you can’t combine crossplay with BepInEx mods.
4. Restart your server.
5. Check the console. A line appears saying your session has been registered, with a six-digit join code.
6. Share the join code with your friends. They enter it in the game when joining.

According to the Valheim Wiki, players on a crossplay server can join with the join code, or with your server’s external IP address and port.

Crossplay or a direct connection?

With crossplay, traffic between players and the server goes through a Microsoft Azure PlayFab relay. That makes connecting easy, but the Valheim Wiki is honest about the downside: because of that extra hop, players on a crossplay server are more likely to experience lag, timeouts and disconnects.

Does everyone play on PC through Steam? Then leave crossplay off. Players then connect straight to your server using the address and port from the game panel. Only switch crossplay on when someone actually plays on a console or through the Microsoft Store.

Name, password and visibility

Under Startup you also set:

• Server Name: the name players see.
• Server Password: at least 5 characters, and it may not be part of the server name, or the server won’t start.
• Public Server: with 1 your server appears in the community server list; with 0 players only join through the address or the join code.
• World Name: the name of your world, which is also the name of its folder.
• Auto Update: updates the server files on every start. Leave it on so your server never falls behind your players.

Mods or crossplay: pick one

BepInEx mods only run on PC, and console players can’t load them. That’s why you choose between two set-ups on our servers:

• Crossplay server: Crossplay at 1, BepInEx at 0. Everyone joins, on any platform, without mods.
• Modded PC server: BepInEx at 1, Crossplay at 0. You upload the BepInEx pack and your mods, and only PC players with the same mods can join.

Admins, bans and a whitelist

A Valheim server reads three lists: adminlist.txt for admins, bannedlist.txt for banned players and permittedlist.txt as a whitelist. On your server you’ll find them in the saves folder. Put each player ID on its own line, without spaces or comments. You’ll see a player’s ID in the console when they connect. Note that, according to the Valheim Wiki, being an admin only gives access to admin commands such as kick and ban, not to cheats.

After a Valheim update

When a new patch comes out, your server has to run the same version as the players; according to the Valheim Wiki they can’t connect otherwise. With Auto Update on, your server updates itself on every start, so a restart is enough. With recent patches, Iron Gate noted that an update doesn’t always reach every platform at the same time, and that crossplay keeps working in the meantime.

Want a world with a specific seed? Preview it first with a Valheim seed map, then create it in the game and upload it to your server, as described below. Otherwise the server generates a world with a random seed.

How many players, and how much memory?

A Valheim world is designed for up to ten players. For a small group, our smallest plan is usually enough. If you build big bases, explore a lot at the same time or play with a full group of ten, choose a bigger plan. You can always move up within the same line later.

Bringing your existing world

Have you been playing on your own PC? On Windows, according to the Valheim Wiki, your worlds are in %UserProfile%\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local. Since 1.0, each world there is its own folder named after the world, and you need every file in it. Stop your server, make a backup, upload the whole world folder to saves/worlds_local and set World Name to the folder’s name.