How to Host an ARK Survival Ascended Server: Hosted or Self Hosted (2026)

There are two ways to host an ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server. Host it with us and it is online about a minute after checkout, with the map, rates and CurseForge mods set from the panel. Or host it yourself for free: download the server with SteamCMD as app 2430930, run it on Windows (Linux only through Proton) with at least 12 GB of RAM free, and forward UDP port 7777. You can also host a non dedicated session from your own game, but it only runs while you play. This guide covers the hosted and self hosted routes step by step.

Which way should you host ARK: Survival Ascended?

A non dedicated session from your game is free, but it only works while you are playing and keeps everyone tethered to the host. Tribes that want dinos to keep breeding, crops to grow and the world to stay online use a dedicated server.

How much RAM does an ARK: Survival Ascended server need?

ARK is one of the heaviest survival servers around. The Island uses around 8 to 10 GB of memory with nobody online, and tamed dinos, big bases and mods push that higher over time. That is why 12 GB is the realistic floor:

If you are unsure, take 16 GB. It is the sweet spot for most tribes. At home, also plan for 30 GB or more of free SSD space and a CPU with good single core speed. More in ARK: Survival Ascended server requirements and how much RAM a game server needs.

Option 1: Host an ARK server with GamezServers

1. Pick a plan from the table above. New customers get 50% off the first month, and you can move up or down later without losing your world. See choosing a plan.
2. Split the bill if you like. Choose Split with friends at checkout to share it between 2 and 10 people. Each friend pays their own share by card with a 1 USD fee per share, so the 16 GB plan split four ways is roughly 11 USD each. Your server starts as soon as you pay your share.
3. Name the server and pay. The name is the session name your tribe searches for in the server list, so pick something easy to type. Sign in or create an account on the same page and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
4. Open your server. It appears under Your servers as Setting up, then Online. ARK takes a little longer than lighter games on its first start while the map loads, so give it a few minutes. The address at the top of the control panel looks like 203.0.113.10:7777.
5. Pick your map and rules. In the panel, set Map to The Island, The Center, Scorched Earth, Aberration, Extinction, Ragnarok, Valguero, Astraeos, Lost Colony or Genesis. Turn on PvE mode if tribes should not attack each other, and set a Join password (letters, numbers, dashes and underscores) to keep it private. XP multiplier, Taming speed, Harvest amount and Max wild dino level are settings too. Restart to apply them.
6. Share the server name. Your tribe joins from the Unofficial list, as described below.

Billing is monthly with no contract, and you can cancel any time from the dashboard. See billing and cancellation and the control panel guide.

How does your tribe join?

1. Launch ARK: Survival Ascended and click Join Game.
2. Set the server filter to Unofficial, not Official, and tick Show Player Servers at the bottom of the list. For a password protected server, also tick Show Password Protected Servers.
3. Type the exact server name in the search box and press Refresh.
4. Click the server, then Join. Enter the password if you set one. If the server runs mods, they download first, which can take a few minutes.

On PC you can also press Tab or ~ to open the console, type open 203.0.113.10:7777 with your address and press Enter. That does not ask for a password, so join a password protected server from the list. Survival Ascended servers are cross platform, so Xbox and PlayStation players find your server in the same Unofficial list. See ARK: Survival Ascended crossplay server.

How do you become an admin and manage players?

Commands sent from the panel console need no password or cheat prefix, so SaveWorld, ListPlayers and Broadcast work straight away. One click actions cover Save world, Broadcast, Chat message, Ban player, Unban player, Whitelist player, Set time and Wipe wild dinos. The Players tab lists who is online with Kick, Ban and Whitelist buttons. To make the server whitelist only, turn on Whitelist only and add each player by their EOS ID, which they can see by typing whoami in the game console.

In game, open the console and type enablecheats followed by the admin password from your panel, then put cheat in front of each admin command, like cheat fly. Our ARK admin commands guide lists the commands worth knowing.

Option 2: Host an ARK server on your own PC

The server software is free, but it is heavy and Wildcard only ships a Windows build. You need a Windows PC or server that stays on while people play, the RAM and disk above, and access to your router for port forwarding. Dinos only mature and crops only grow while the server runs, so for most tribes that means around the clock.

Step 1: Install SteamCMD

Download SteamCMD from Valve, extract it to a folder such as C:\steamcmd and run steamcmd.exe once so it finishes updating itself.

Step 2: Download the server

The ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server is app ID 2430930. The old Survival Evolved server is a different app, 376030, so do not mix them up. It downloads anonymously:

steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\asa-server +login anonymous +app_update 2430930 validate +quit

Run the same command whenever the game updates. Players on a newer version cannot join an outdated server.

Step 3: Create a start script

The server executable lives in ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64\ArkAscendedServer.exe. Create start.bat in your server folder:

start ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64\ArkAscendedServer.exe TheIsland_WP?listen?SessionName="My ARK Server"?ServerPassword=joinpass?MaxPlayers=20?ServerAdminPassword=adminpass -port=7777

Things that trip people up:

• Ascended maps end in _WP, for example TheIsland_WP, ScorchedEarth_WP, TheCenter_WP and Ragnarok_WP.
• Set the port with -port=7777, not ?Port=. Survival Ascended ignores the old style and falls back to 7777.
• Put ?ServerAdminPassword= last in the ? options. Anything after it can be read as part of the password.
• Leave out ?ServerPassword= if you want an open server.

The first start can take several minutes while the map loads, and longer with mods. Give it time before assuming something is wrong.

Step 4: Open the ports

Forward these ports on your router to the server's local IP address:

Many older guides also list 7778 UDP and 27015, and forwarding them does no harm. Allow ArkAscendedServer.exe through Windows Firewall too. Our port forwarding guide walks through the router side. If forwarded ports never reach you, check how to tell if you are behind CGNAT.

Step 5: Become an admin

Type enablecheats and your ServerAdminPassword in the game console. To use admin commands without typing a password each time, add your EOS ID to ShooterGame/Saved/AllowedCheaterAccountIDs.txt, one ID per line, and restart.

Step 6: Let your tribe connect

Players join from the Unofficial list with Show Player Servers ticked, as in Option 1, or PC players type open and your public IP and port in the console.

Running it on Linux

On Linux, people run the Windows build through Proton, Valve's compatibility layer, usually with a community Docker image that bundles SteamCMD and a Proton version. It works well, but expect a little more memory use and occasional breakage after big updates until the image catches up.

Running a cluster

To let players move characters and dinos between maps, run one server per map, each with its own port, and give them all the same -clusterid=yourcluster and a shared -ClusterDirOverride= folder. Each map server needs its own share of RAM, so a two map cluster needs roughly twice the memory. Clusters are not available on our servers yet: each server runs one map on its own. Full detail in how to set up an ARK: Survival Ascended cluster.

What are the catches with hosting it yourself?

• The PC has to stay on. The world, breeding and crops stop when it does.
• RAM is heavy. If your gaming PC does not have 12 GB or more to spare while you play, it cannot run both.
• Windows only. Linux needs Proton, which can break after big updates.
• Your home IP is shared with every player. See is hosting a game server at home safe.
• Updates are manual. Forget SteamCMD after a patch and nobody can join.

How do you change rates and breeding?

The config files are in ShooterGame/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/, at home and in the Files tab of our panel. Always stop the server before you edit them. ARK rewrites them when it shuts down, so changes made while it runs get thrown away.

GameUserSettings.ini holds the everyday rates under [ServerSettings]:

[ServerSettings]
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
DifficultyOffset=1.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
ServerPVE=True

• XPMultiplier: how fast everyone levels.
• TamingSpeedMultiplier: how fast dinos tame. 3 to 5 is popular for small tribes.
• HarvestAmountMultiplier: how much you get per hit on trees, rocks and bodies.
• DifficultyOffset and OverrideOfficialDifficulty: set both as above for wild dinos up to level 150, like official servers.

Breeding and maturation live in Game.ini in the same folder, under this exact header:

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
MatingIntervalMultiplier=0.5
EggHatchSpeedMultiplier=5.0
BabyMatureSpeedMultiplier=5.0
BabyCuddleIntervalMultiplier=0.5

Lower MatingIntervalMultiplier means shorter waits between matings. Higher hatch and mature values mean faster babies. If Game.ini is empty, paste the header and your lines in.

On our servers, XP, taming, harvest, max wild dino level and PvE are panel settings that replace the matching lines in GameUserSettings.ini, so change those in the panel and use the ini files for everything else. If a change does not take effect, see ARK server settings not working and best ARK: Survival Ascended server settings.

How do you add CurseForge mods?

Survival Ascended mods come from CurseForge. On each mod page, copy the Project ID. At home, add the IDs to your launch line, separated by commas:

-mods=927131,928988

On our servers, put them in the CurseForge mod IDs setting, separated by commas with no spaces, and restart. The server downloads the mods on start, and players get them automatically when they join. If Xbox or PlayStation players are in your tribe, only use mods marked as cross platform. Add a few mods at a time, because every mod adds to memory use and startup time. For a mod map, add its ID and set the map name from the mod page. More in how to install mods on an ARK: Survival Ascended server.

Backups, updates and upgrades

• Backups: on our servers, press Backup before new mods, big rate changes or a game update. Each server keeps 3. At home, copy your SavedArks folder.
• Updates: our servers update ARK on every restart while Update on restart is on. Turn it off only to hold a version for mods. At home, rerun the SteamCMD command. The Unreal Engine 5.8 update is planned for 5 November 2026, moved from 28 October, so check your mods after it lands. See the ARK UE 5.8 update and how to update an ARK server and mods.
• Sleep when empty: our servers stop after 4 days with nobody online, and one press of Start brings them back with the world saved. Turn it off in Settings if you want dinos maturing and crops growing overnight.
• Upgrading: if the server runs short of memory as your base grows, pick a bigger plan in Settings. The price is prorated, the new RAM applies after a restart and your world stays as it is.
• Moving an existing world: upload the SavedArks folder for your map through the Files tab or SFTP, and it loads on the next start. See how to transfer an ARK single player save to a server.

Common problems

• Server does not show in the list: set the filter to Unofficial, tick Show Player Servers (and Show Password Protected Servers with a password), clear the map filter, search the exact name and press Refresh. A new server can take a few minutes to appear. If the box will not tick, click the small square itself. The full checklist is in ARK server not showing up.
• Server stuck on startup: big maps and mods take a while. If the machine runs out of memory, the server crashes or hangs. A mod that was removed or is not updated for the current patch can also stop it loading, so take it out and restart.
• Everyone on your network can join but nobody outside: UDP 7777 is not forwarded, or Windows Firewall is blocking the executable.
• Settings keep resetting: you edited the ini files while the server was running. Stop it first, then edit.
• Admin commands do nothing: type enablecheats and the admin password first, then put cheat in front of each command.
• Version mismatch: at home, rerun the SteamCMD update. On ours, restart the server and update the game on every device.

FAQ

How much does it cost to host an ARK: Survival Ascended server?

With us, plans start at 29.99 USD a month for 12 GB, and most tribes choose 16 GB at 39.99 USD. New customers get 50% off the first month, and you can split the bill with up to 9 friends. The dedicated server software is free if you host it yourself.

Can Xbox and PlayStation players join my ARK server?

Yes. Survival Ascended servers are cross platform. Console players find your server under Unofficial with Show Player Servers turned on. Any mods you add need to support console too.

Why does ARK need so much RAM?

The Island alone uses around 8 to 10 GB with nobody online, and bases, tamed dinos and mods add to it over time. 16 GB is the sweet spot for most tribes.

Can I run a cluster?

On your own hardware, yes, with a shared -clusterid and cluster folder. On our servers, not yet. Each server runs one map, and you can switch it to another map at any time. Each map keeps its own save, so switching back finds your old world.

Can I bring my single player world?

Yes. Upload the SavedArks folder for your map and it loads on the next start. The host character usually needs to be recreated, so back up first.

Do players need to own the map?

For paid maps, yes. Players need to own a paid map to join a server running it.

Do I need to keep my PC on?

Not with a hosted server. It runs on our hardware, so your world stays online after you log off. Turn off Sleep when empty if you want it running around the clock. A server at home only runs while that PC is on.

See ARK: Survival Ascended server hosting to pick a plan and get your tribe taming.