Valheim Dedicated Servers on Console: PS5, Xbox, Switch 2
The short answer
You cannot run a Valheim dedicated server on a console. The dedicated server is a separate PC application; PS5, Xbox and Switch 2 can join dedicated servers through crossplay, but never host one. A console-only group that wants a world running around the clock has exactly one hardware-free option: a server someone else runs for them.
Checked against Valheim 1.0.17, October 2026. PS5 and Switch 2 launched with Valheim 1.0 on September 9, 2026; Xbox has had the game with crossplay since 2023.
The three ways a console group gets a shared world
1. Player-hosted session
Free and built in: one player opens their world and the others join with the join code. The catch is availability: the world exists only while the host is playing, progress is locked to the host's console, and everyone rides on the host's connection quality.
2. A PC in the house
If someone in the group owns a PC that can stay on, the free dedicated server app can run there with the crossplay flag enabled so consoles can join. You maintain it: updates, port setup, backups, and the electricity bill of an always-on machine.
3. A rented dedicated server
A hosted server runs 24/7 with crossplay a setting away, players join by code from any platform, and updates and backups are handled for you. This is the only option that needs no PC and no host online.
What console players can and cannot do on a dedicated server
- Joining works by join code. The server must run with its crossplay backend enabled: a Steam-only server never appears for console players. The code is six digits and can change between sessions, so share the current one. The full walkthrough lives in the PS5, Switch 2 and crossplay setup guide.
- Up to 10 players share a dedicated world in vanilla Valheim, a cap the server enforces. The larger Supercraft plans raise it on the server, up to 32 players, and console players can join those too.
- Client mods stay PC-only. BepInEx and its mod ecosystem load on PC clients; no console version supports them. World modifiers are different: those are world settings applied server-side, and they affect every player who joins, console included.
- Admin actions (bans, whitelist, admin rights) are managed from the server side, not from the console client: see granting admin and whitelisting.
- One dependency to know about: crossplay joins run through an online relay. On its bad days, console players cannot join while Steam-to-Steam PC connections still work. Here is how that failure looks and what to do.
Moving an existing world to a 24/7 server
Whether a world can move depends on where it was hosted. A world hosted on a PC, Steam or the Microsoft Store, moves to a dedicated server as files: get the world folder onto the server and keep a backup of the originals. An Xbox host's world reaches a PC through the Microsoft Store version, which shares saves with Xbox, and from there the server. A world hosted on a PS5 or Switch 2 stays on that console: Iron Gate's 1.0 FAQ rules out any other cross-platform save sync, so a group that started there begins its server world fresh. Guides: uploading a world to a server, downloading a world from a server, and creating backups before you touch anything.
Why mixed groups need a server
Since Valheim 1.0 reached PS5 and Switch 2 with full crossplay on September 9, 2026 (see Valheim on Switch 2), mixed groups are the norm: two friends on PC, one on Xbox, two on Switch 2. None of the console players can carry the world themselves, so the group's world lives either on a PC someone keeps running or on a rented server. Decide that before the group's first session, not while everyone waits in a lobby.
FAQ
Can you host a Valheim dedicated server on PS5?
No. The dedicated server is a PC application. PS5 players join dedicated servers via crossplay; they cannot run one.
Can Xbox or Switch 2 host one?
Also no. The same applies to every console. Consoles can player-host a temporary session, which lasts only while the host plays.
How do console players join a dedicated server?
With the server's join code, as long as the server runs with crossplay enabled.
Can a console-only group have a 24/7 world?
Yes, on a rented dedicated server. It is the one option that requires no PC in the group and no host being online.
Do mods work for console players?
Client mods do not. Server-side world modifiers do, because they are part of the world every player joins.
Related pages
- Valheim on Switch 2: release date, crossplay and servers
- Valheim on PS5, Switch 2, and crossplay: the complete setup guide
- Dedicated server requirements
- Upload a world to a server
- Are Valheim servers down? The crossplay relay failure, explained
- Can console players join a dedicated server? Every game compared
Get the 24/7 world without the PC: on a managed Valheim server crossplay is one switch in the settings, and then PS5, Xbox, Switch 2 and PC players all join the same persistent world by the code the panel shows.