Valheim dedicated server for PS5 and Xbox

You don't need a PC to run a Valheim server for PS5 and Xbox players. The server runs on our hardware, not on anyone's console, and it stays up when everyone logs off. You set it up and manage it from the dashboard in any web browser, including the one on your phone. Since Valheim 1.0, players on PS5, Xbox, PC Game Pass, Steam and Switch 2 can all play on the same server, and crossplay is on from the first boot.

What you need

• A Valheim server. Pick a plan on our Valheim page; 4 GB suits a small crew.
• Crossplay on. It is on a new server already. A server created before 8 September 2026 starts with it off: see Turn crossplay on below.
• The join code and the password from your dashboard, to share with your crew.

That's all. Nothing gets installed on the console, and nobody needs to keep a game running for the world to stay online.

Join from a PS5 or Xbox

1. Open your server in the dashboard and start it.
2. Within about a minute, a six-digit Join code shows in the panel's left rail, under your server's name. Copy it and send it to your crew.
3. The Join password sits just below it. Press the eye to reveal it and send that too.
4. On the console, open Valheim, pick your character and click Start.
5. Switch to the Join Game tab, choose Add server, enter the join code and choose Connect.
6. Type the password when the game asks for it.

Steam, PC Game Pass and Switch 2 players join the same way, with the same code.

Turn crossplay on

If the left rail shows a Server address (numbers, a colon and a port) instead of a Join code, crossplay is off, and PS5 and Xbox players can't join.

1. Open the Startup tab.
2. In the Server card, turn Crossplay on and press Save changes.
3. Restart the server, then reload the dashboard page. The left rail now shows the join code.

What you can do without a PC

Everything that runs the server works from a browser:

• Start, stop and restart the server from the dashboard.
• Change the server name and password in the Server card of the Startup tab.
• Set the world's difficulty in the World, Difficulty and World toggles cards, before the world's first start. Change Valheim world settings on your server explains every option.
• Start a fresh world by typing a new name into World name in the World card, pressing Save changes and restarting. The old world stays on the server, and setting the name back brings it back.
• Take and restore backups in the Backups tab (How to create and restore backups).
• See who's online in the Players tab.

What needs a PC

Three things depend on files only a PC version of Valheim gives you:

• Bringing an existing world across. A world made on a PS5 or Xbox stays on that console, so there's no file to upload. Your server starts a new world on its first boot instead. If a friend plays on a Steam PC, they can upload a world from their PC (Upload your Valheim world to a dedicated server).
• Choosing the world's seed. The server has no seed setting and gives a new world a random seed. To play a particular seed, the world has to be created on a PC and uploaded (Set or find a Valheim dedicated server seed).
• Mods. Console players can't install mods, and every player needs the same mods as the server, so a modded server is a PC-only server. Keep a server with console players on vanilla Valheim.

A crew on several platforms

• Keep crossplay on. Everyone, Steam players included, joins with the join code. With crossplay off, only Steam players can get in, by the server address.
• Stay on the same version. Everyone in a crossplay game needs the same build of Valheim. After a patch, restart your server so it picks up the new build, and have console players check their game has downloaded the update. A patch doesn't always reach every platform on the same day.
• Characters are personal. Each player's character is saved on their own console or PC, not in the world. A player keeps their gear and skills when they move between servers, and the world keeps the builds.

Common problems

1. PS5 or Xbox players can't connect at all - check the left rail shows a Join code. If it shows a Server address, crossplay is off; turn it on as above.
2. The join code doesn't work - the server has restarted since the code was shared. Copy the current one from the left rail.
3. No join code in the left rail - the server is still starting, or it's stopped. Start it and give it a minute. The Console prints the code too, in a line like Session "yourserver" registered with join code 123456.
4. "Wrong password" - passwords are case-sensitive. Copy it from the left rail rather than typing it from memory, and restart the server after changing it.
5. One console player can't join after an update - their console hasn't got the new build yet, or the server hasn't. Restart the server and have them check for a game update.

How to make a Valheim dedicated server covers the rest of the setup, including RAM sizing for a bigger crew.