Allow Epic Games Store (EGS) players to join your Steam-based ARK server by adding the -crossplay startup parameter.

What Crossplay Supports

ARK crossplay connects Steam and Epic Games Store clients only. There is no crossplay between Steam/EGS and console platforms (PlayStation, Xbox, or Windows Store).

This feature was introduced in patch 311.74. EGS players connect using the same server address as Steam players.

Enabling Crossplay

Log in to the Game Control Panel and select your ARK server
Navigate to Configuration > Server Options
Find the [ADMIN] Additional Arguments field (or see Startup Parameters)
Add -crossplay to the field
Save and restart your server

EGS clients can now connect to your server using the same IP and port.

Testing the Connection

After enabling crossplay, verify it’s working:

Have an EGS player open ARK and go to Join ARK
They should search for the server by name in the unofficial server list, or use Direct Connect with the server IP and port
If the server doesn’t appear in the list, direct connect is the more reliable method

Want to go back?

Remove the -crossplay argument from Additional Arguments and restart your server to disable crossplay.

Limitations

No mod support for EGS clients. EGS players don’t have access to the Steam Workshop. Running your server with any mods enabled will prevent EGS clients from connecting. This is the most common reason crossplay doesn’t work after enabling it.
Server list visibility. EGS players may not always see the server in the browser. Direct connect by IP is more reliable.
No console crossplay. Steam/EGS crossplay does not extend to PlayStation, Xbox, or Windows Store versions of ARK.