1 The part that confuses everyone: ASE vs ASA
These are two different games, and they have completely different server rules. This trips up more people than anything else in ARK hosting, so it's worth being blunt about it:
| Survival Evolved (ASE) | Survival Ascended (ASA) | |
|---|---|---|
| PC players on a rented server | Yes | Yes |
| Xbox / PlayStation on a rented server | No — impossible | Yes |
| Who can host console servers | One licensed provider only | Any host |
| Mods come from | Steam Workshop | CurseForge |
2 How crossplay actually works in ASA
Every ASA server has a launch flag that decides which platforms are allowed to connect. It looks like this:
-ServerPlatform=PC+XSX+PS5
Each code is a platform you're letting in:
PC— Steam playersWINGDK— Windows Store / Game Pass playersXSX— Xbox (Series X|S and One)PS5— PlayStation 5ALL— everything, the simplest option for a friends server
Chain them together with +. Want everyone? Use -ServerPlatform=ALL. Want PC and Xbox but no PlayStation? -ServerPlatform=PC+XSX. That's genuinely the whole mechanism — one flag decides who can knock on the door.
3 How console players find your server
This is the second thing people get stuck on, because consoles can't type in an IP address the way PC players can.
- Launch ARK: Survival Ascended on the console.
- Choose Join ARK.
- Set the session filter to Unofficial (not Official, not Favourites).
- Search your server's name in the name filter box.
- Select it and join. Add it to favourites so it's one click next time.
Two things make this go smoothly: give your server a distinctive name (searching "ARK Server" in a list of thousands is hopeless — searching "SolaceTribeRP" finds it instantly), and remember the list can take a minute to populate the first time after a restart.
-ServerPlatform flag, or you're filtering by Official instead of Unofficial.
4 The mod trade-off nobody mentions
ASA mods come from CurseForge, and many are built to work on all platforms — but not all of them. Some are PC-only, usually because they rely on code consoles can't run.
Here's the catch: if your server loads a PC-only mod, console players simply can't join. They won't get a useful error either — the server just won't work for them. So if crossplay matters to you:
- Check each mod's CurseForge page for console/crossplay support before adding it.
- Add mods one at a time and have a console player test after each one.
- If a console player suddenly can't connect after a mod update, that's your culprit — roll it back first.
5 What ASA needs to actually run well
Ascended is built on Unreal Engine 5 and it is heavy — significantly heavier than Survival Evolved. The server process alone takes several gigabytes of RAM before a single player connects, which is why bargain-bin ASA plans tend to crash on boot.
| Setup | RAM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Small vanilla, up to ~10 players | 10–12 GB | Workable, keep mods minimal |
| Community server with mods | 16 GB | The comfortable sweet spot |
| Large / heavily modded / cluster | 24 GB+ | Each extra cluster map adds more |
Storage matters too — the ASA install is roughly 30 GB before saves and mods, so anything under about 50 GB of disk will bite you eventually.
Want a crossplay ASA server without the setup headache?
Solace runs ARK: Survival Ascended from $20/mo on high-clock CPUs with NVMe and DDoS protection — and we'll set your crossplay flag for you.
6 Quick answers
Can Xbox and PC play together in ASA?
Yes, on unofficial/rented servers with the right -ServerPlatform flag. Official servers have their own crossplay rules set by the developer.
Can I move my ASE save to ASA?
No. They're separate games with different engines and save formats. An ASA server starts fresh.
Do I need to buy ASA separately?
Yes — owning Survival Evolved doesn't give you Ascended. Every player who wants to join needs ASA on their own platform.
Does crossplay cost extra?
No. It's a launch flag, not a feature you buy. Any host that charges extra for "crossplay support" is charging you for typing one line.