--- title: "Valheim crossplay server: PC, PS5, Switch 2 and Xbox" description: "One world across PC and console: why a console can't host, the join code that is its only way in — and the catch of a code that changes at every start." url: https://tickserv.com/guides/valheim-crossplay-server site: "TickServ (https://tickserv.com)" lang: en published: 2026-08-21 games: [valheim] --- # Valheim crossplay server: PC, PS5, Switch 2 and Xbox in one world With 1.0 (9 September 2026) Valheim leaves early access: in come the Deep North biome and, above all, the **PS5** and **Nintendo Switch 2** versions, with full crossplay alongside PC and Xbox. Your group can mix platforms in the same world — on one condition, which is what this guide is about. 1.0 also changes how the game writes its worlds to disk: we [measured it file by file before release](https://tickserv.com/guides/valheim-1-0-world-format). ## A console can't host, it can only join On PC you can run a Valheim dedicated server yourself. On console you can't: neither PS5, Switch 2 nor Xbox runs a dedicated server. So a console group has two options — play in a session hosted by one player (the world only exists while that person is online), or use a dedicated server running somewhere else. That's where a rented server earns its place: the world lives on its own, everyone connects whenever they want, and nobody has to stay online for the others. ## 1. Crossplay has to be on, server-side A Valheim server only accepts non-Steam players if crossplay was enabled **when the server started**. It isn't a client setting: if the server doesn't have it, a console simply can't see it, whatever the player does. With us it's **on by default** on every Valheim server, and it stays a switch in the server settings if you want to go back to Steam-only. PC players lose nothing either way: they keep connecting with the usual address. ## 2. The join code is a console's only way in When crossplay is on, the server registers with the relay service and gets a **six-digit join code**. That code is how console players get in: their connection screen has no "IP address" field like the PC one does. So, for your group: - **PC / Steam**: the server address (`something.tickserv.com`) plus the password. - **PS5, Switch 2, Xbox, Game Pass**: the join code plus the password. The code shows up on your server's card in the TickServ console a few seconds after start-up, with a button to copy it. ## 3. The catch: the code changes at every start This is the part nobody explains, and it's the number one cause of "it doesn't work" on a crossplay Valheim server: **the code is regenerated every time the server restarts**. A code you wrote down last week is worthless today — and a stale code behaves exactly like a broken server, which sends everyone hunting for a problem that doesn't exist. It matters even more here, since a server billed by the hour shuts down as soon as nobody is playing: tonight's code isn't this morning's. Three ways to always have the current one: - **the TickServ console**, on the server's card; - **the invite link** you share with your friends: they bookmark it, reopen it, and read the current code — without having to ask you; - **the Discord bot**, if you've linked it to your Discord server: `/status` answers with the state, the address and the code. That's the shortest path for a console player: `/wake` to wake the server, `/status` to get in. ## 4. Password and RAM Valheim requires a server password of at least 5 characters, and it must not contain the server name. We generate it for you and show it next to the address — the same one for everybody, PC and console alike. On RAM: 4 GB carries a group of 2 to 4 players; go to 8 GB for a larger group or a heavily explored map. You can change tier whenever you like without losing the world. ## 5. Release day: your world, and who can get in Two questions come up at every major release, and both have short answers. **Is your existing world lost?** No. 1.0 converts it on its first start. The Deep North only generates on ground nobody has explored yet, so on a well-travelled map you'll have to go far to see it. Iron Gate suggests starting a fresh world to enjoy it fully — that's advice, not a requirement, and nothing stops you running both. One detail that matters if you're moving a save: 1.0 changes how Valheim writes worlds to disk. A world is no longer the `.db` + `.fwl` pair but **its own folder**, with the `.db` broken into pieces. So to import a 1.0 world, bring the whole `worlds_local` folder rather than two hand-picked files — it's the only way to leave nothing behind. **Who can connect on the day?** Valheim won't let an updated client onto a server that's been left behind. And Steam updates clients on its own: the minute 1.0 ships, a server that hasn't moved is a server nobody can enter. Here there's nothing to do — the server reinstalls the current build of the game at every start, so the next time you switch it on it's already on 1.0. **If you use ValheimPlus**, keep two things in mind. A server mod is always one major update behind, and this one requires the server and its players to be on the same version. And the new save system hasn't been tried with mods: Iron Gate says so in as many words in its patch notes — "this system has not been tested with mods". So on 1.0 day the safe move is to switch the mod off in your server settings, play vanilla for a few days, and turn it back on once a compatible build exists. ## 6. The honest caveat about mods Crossplay and server mods don't always get along: some mods don't work while crossplay is enabled, and the documentation of the server image we use says so explicitly. If you care about ValheimPlus or any mod that touches networking, test it with your group before inviting half the world — and keep in mind that your console friends can't install client mods anyway. ## 7. Switched off, you pay nothing The world and the characters are saved on shutdown and restored on the next start. Auto-stop triggers on its own once nobody is left. A stopped server costs €0 — which is what makes a weekend-only world viable, for the evening when your seven time zones finally line up. Iron Gate documents dedicated servers and crossplay in its [official guide](https://www.valheimgame.com/support/a-guide-to-dedicated-servers/) and its [crossplay FAQ](https://www.valheimgame.com/support/crossplay-faq/). > [Create your Valheim server](https://tickserv.com/games/valheim) — crossplay on from the start, billed by the hour begun.