Today we are going to talk about ARK: Survival Evolved cross-platform capability.
The question: Is ARK: Survival Evolved Cross-platform? popped up almost every month in this game’s forum threads or subreddits.
Many players are curious about the game supports for cross-play between multiple platforms.
I can tell you now that ARK: Survival Evolved does support cross-platform play, but it is only limited to Xbox Players and PC Players.
We will talk about this cross-play capability more below.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
What is ARK: Survival Evolved?
First of all, ARK: Survival Evolved is an enormous open-world game for you to explore.
It is a survival game where you begin with nothing but the clothes on your back and a flashlight.
As you’re dropped into the world of ARK, you only have one goal: survival.
Surviving in ARK is full of challenges.
But the main attraction of this game is the dinosaur.
You can hunt, kill, tame, and even ride these dinosaurs.
ARK is a game that really makes you feel like you’re living off the land.
You have to find food and water to survive, and you can also eat the corpses of animals you kill to stave off hunger.
The world is full of useful resources but also full of dangerous creatures.
You begin with nothing but your wits and hands, and you must quickly find or craft better tools and weapons if you want to survive.
Is ARK Cross-platform?
Like I have mentioned earlier, the question: Is ARK Cross-platform? appears almost every month from the game players base.
You can see on this screenshot I got from the game’s official Reddit page.
Cross-platform is when you can play with or against people on a different gaming platform.
For example, if you’re playing on Xbox, you can play with or against people on PC or Playstation 4.
This feature is also known as Crossplay.
So here’s the deal:
ARK does support Cross-platform play, or as the developers call it, CrossPlay.
However, the cross-platform support only available to Xbox Players and PC Players.
To be extremely specific:
The CrossPlay features only available to ARK’s Xbox players and PC players that buy the game through Microsoft Windows Store.
So if you are a PC player but purchase your game through Steam, or Epic Games Store, you cannot enjoy this feature.
To get a clearer picture of ARK’s cross-platform capability, let us answer some frequently asked questions about this feature.
Keep on reading…
Can I Play ARK on PC with Someone on Xbox?
Yes, you can play ARK on PC with someone on Xbox, but only if they purchase the game from Microsoft Windows Store.
If you get your game from Steam or Epic Games Store instead, you cannot play the game with someone on Xbox.
This is because Microsft owns Windows Store and Xbox, and they share the same server.
Since both platforms share the same server, it allows the players from both platforms to interact and play together.
However, that is not the case with Steam players.
Since Steam and Windows Store does not share the same server, it means their players cannot interact with each other.
So, in other words:
Yes, you can play ARK: Survival Evolved with someone on Xbox only if you get your copy of the game from Windows Store.
Is ARK Cross-platform on Xbox and PS4?
Unfortunately, ARK is not Cross-platform on Xbox and PS4.
At the moment, there is no cross-play support between Xbox players and PlayStation 4 players.
In other words:
Gamers who play ARK on their PS4 still cannot play together with gamers who play ARK on their Xbox console.
This is mainly because Sony is well-known to limit PlayStation 4 cross-play capability in the past.
However, in 2019 Sony has stated that PlayStation 4 can support cross-play.
It is now up to the developers of the game to take full advantage of this feature.
Let’s just hope that the developer of ARK, Studio Wildcard, to implement the cross-platform between Xbox and PS4 in the future.
Although there is no official announcement from the developer to have cross-platform support in future updates up to this point.
Is ARK on Steam Cross-platform?
Yes, ARK on Steam is cross-platform but only between the Steam players and Epic Store Games players.
If you are a PC user, you can get ARK: Survival Evolved on three different gaming distributors, Epic Game Stores, Steam, and also Microsoft Windows Store.
If you get your games from Steam, you can have a cross-play capability with your friends from Epic Game Stores.
In other words:
If you use Steam to play the game you can only cross-play with players from Epic Store.
You still cannot cross-play with those who use Switch, PS4 or Xbox if you Steam.
Is ARK Cross-platform on Epic and Xbox?
Like I’ve said previously, ARK: Survival Evolved only supports cross-platform play between Xbox and PC players who get their game from Windows Store.
If you get the game from Epic Store, unfortunately, you cannot enjoy the cross-platform supports.
ARK’s cross-platform capability only supports Epic with Steam but not Epic with Xbox.
So ARK does not support cross-platform play for its Epic and Xbox players.
Is ARK Cross-platform on Xbox and Mobile?
The Xbox version of ARK: Survival Evolved does support cross-play between Xbox and PC players.
Unfortunately, ARK does not support cross-platform on its Xbox and mobile version.
In other words:
Players who play ARK on Xbox cannot interact or play together with players who play ARK on their iOS and Android devices.
Conclusion: Is ARK: Survival Evolved Supports Cross-platform Play?
ARK: Survival Evolved is a survival game that is launched back in 2017.
Today it is still played by more than 50,000 people around the world.
ARK: Survival Evolved does support cross-platform play for its players.
ARK supports a limited cross-play capability between Xbox players and PC players who buy the game from Microsoft Windows Store.
It also supports cross-play between Steam players and Epic Game players.
Despite its limited cross-play features, we hope ARK can be fully cross-platform in all of its gaming platforms.
After all, this game is so much fun when it is played together with friends.
Hello,
Any idea why the PC Xbox Game Pass version is not compatible with the Xbox One version?
I’ve been attempting to cross-play with a friend who is using the Xbox and I downloaded the game through Xbox Game Pass on the PC.
Hi Marc!
Thanks for stopping by.
As far as I know, As long as ARK on your PC is downloaded from Windows Store, cross-play with XBOX should be possible.
Couple of things you might want to try:
1. Make sure both version of the game are the same.
2. Try to disable the firewall on your PC. Some users on reddit suggested this and they found its working like a charm.