How to Play Valheim With Friends: Co-op, Servers and Crossplay

Valheim is at its best with other people in it, and there are three ways to get them there: one of you hosts from inside the game, you all join a public community server, or you run a dedicated server of your own. This guide explains what each one actually gives you, how people join, and what changes when your group is spread across PC and consoles — which, from the 1.0 release on 9 September 2026, includes PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 as well as Xbox.

Quick facts

Players per world: 1–10, and Iron Gate has confirmed that is unchanged at 1.0. Crossplay: yes, on every platform. Cross-save between platforms: no, apart from Xbox console ↔ PC Microsoft Store. Characters: stored on each player's own machine, so yours travels with you between worlds and servers.

The Three Ways to Play Together

Option 1: One of You Hosts From the Game

The simplest route. One player starts a world from their own game and the others join it.

It has two real limits, and they are the reason most groups eventually move on:

• The world only exists while the host is playing. Log off and everyone else is done for the night. Nobody can get ahead, nobody can pop in for twenty minutes, and progress happens only when one specific person is available.
• The host's machine does the work for everyone. That one machine runs the world and their own game, and their upload speed is everyone else's connection. On a big base with several people online, the host is usually the one having the worst time.

It is genuinely fine for two or three friends who play together anyway. It stops being fine the moment schedules diverge.

Option 2: Join a Public Community Server

Valheim has an in-game server list. Open Join Game and you can browse servers other people are running, filter by name, and mark ones you like as favourites — a feature added alongside crossplay in September 2022.

This costs nothing and needs no setup. What you give up is control: someone else decides the rules, the mods, who else is on it, and whether it exists next month. Your buildings live on their world.

Useful for trying multiplayer before committing. Not where you put a base you care about.

Option 3: Run Your Own Dedicated Server

A dedicated server runs the world on a machine that is always on, independent of anyone's game. It is the option that fixes both problems above at once:

• The world is always there. People play on their own schedule, in any combination, and the world keeps its state between sessions.
• Nobody's connection is the bottleneck. The server does the hosting job, so the person with the worst upload is not silently degrading everyone else's game.
• You set the rules. Difficulty modifiers, admins, whitelist, password, mods — all yours. Valheim Server Settings and Launch Arguments is the full reference.
• It is the practical route for console players. Iron Gate's crossplay FAQ states you cannot set up a dedicated server on an Xbox, and consoles do not run server software generally. Console players join dedicated servers; they cannot host them.

A managed Valheim server skips the part where you keep a machine running at home and forward ports. Getting started with your Valheim server walks through first boot and connecting.

Playing Across Platforms

Valheim has had full crossplay since patch 0.211.7 in September 2022. Iron Gate's wording at the time was unambiguous: "you will be able to play with any other Valheim player, no matter where they're playing from."

At 1.0 on 9 September 2026 that spans PC (Steam, Microsoft Store, Humble), Linux, Mac, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2, and Iron Gate's 1.0 FAQ confirms crossplay covers all of them. Is Valheim Crossplay? goes through the platform matrix, the two server backends and the cross-save question in full.

There is one thing a server owner has to do. A Valheim dedicated server runs on one of two backends, and the default is the Steam one — Iron Gate is explicit that without the -crossplay argument, "only Steam users can see and join the Server." Turn crossplay on (it is the Crossplay field in the Startup tab) and restart, and everyone else can get in.

If a console friend cannot see your server, this is why

A server that has not been switched to the crossplay backend is invisible to every player who is not on Steam. It is not a firewall problem and not a search problem. Enable crossplay, restart, and have them look again.

How People Actually Join

Three routes, depending on the setup:

1. By address. In game: Join Game → Join IP, then the server's IP and port, then the password. This is the dependable one for PC players, and the address does not change.
2. From the server list. Search the exact server name under Join Game. This is how console players usually connect. The server has to be public for this to work, and a freshly started server can take a few minutes to appear.
3. By join code. On a crossplay server, a short Join code appears in the pause menu. Copy it, send it, and the other person uses Join Game → Add server and pastes it in. Iron Gate regenerates that code every time the server restarts, so it is an invite for right now rather than a permanent address.

Give the server a findable name

If anyone is joining from a console, the server name is their only handle on it. Something distinctive and correctly spelled beats something clever — there are a lot of servers in that list.

What About Consoles?

• Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S — Valheim has been on Xbox since 14 March 2023, with crossplay from day one.
• PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 — both arrive with 1.0 on 9 September 2026. Neither exists to play before then.
• All of them can join a dedicated server, and none of them can host one.
• None of them can use mods. Mods are a PC-side BepInEx thing, and Iron Gate has confirmed there is no console mod support at 1.0. In a mixed group, stick to server-side mods that change the world's rules without needing anything installed on each player's machine — see installing mods.

Xbox crossplay can be switched off at the account level

Iron Gate's crossplay FAQ notes that an Xbox player who cannot find the option to enable crossplay may need to change their parental control settings, and a February 2023 patch note spells it out: Xbox network users without the crossplay privilege can only host and join servers that do not support crossplay. If exactly one person is locked out, check their account before you change the server.

Characters, Worlds and Progress

Valheim keeps these separate, and it works in your favour:

• Your character is yours and lives on your own machine. Skills, inventory and appearance travel with you onto any world or server, including one you have never visited.
• The world belongs to whoever hosts it. Buildings, terrain and boss progress stay with the world, which is why a dedicated server is what keeps a long-running base alive.
• Saves do not sync between platforms. Iron Gate has confirmed there is no cross-platform save sync, with one exception: Xbox console to the PC Microsoft Store version. Playing on a dedicated server sidesteps the world half of this entirely, because everyone connects to the same world regardless of platform.

If you have already built something in singleplayer or in a co-op world and want to keep it, you can move it: How to Upload Your Existing World to Your Valheim Server covers finding the world files and putting them on a server.

Common Problems

• Your friend cannot find the server in the list. Make sure it is public, and have them search the exact name. A newly started server takes a few minutes to show up. Connect by IP yourself first to confirm the server is actually running.
• Only one person cannot connect. Usually a version mismatch — Iron Gate's advice is to make sure everyone is on the same patch version, shown in the bottom-right of the main menu. Have them update, and restart the server so it updates too.
• A console friend cannot see the server at all. Crossplay is off on the server, or the crossplay privilege is off on their account.
• The join code stopped working. The server restarted and the code changed. Fetch a new one from the pause menu, or use the IP.
• Nobody can connect after you changed a setting. Valheim reads its configuration only at startup. Restart the server after any change.
• Everyone joined, but someone's character is empty. Characters live on each player's own machine. A "lost" character usually means they are signed in on a different computer or account, not that the server ate it.

FAQ

How many people can play Valheim together?

Up to ten, in one world. Iron Gate has confirmed Valheim remains a 1–10 player game at 1.0. That is a game limit, not a hosting limit — a bigger server gives you room for larger builds, not more players.

Can PC and Xbox players play Valheim together?

Yes, and they have been able to since the Xbox release in March 2023. If you are on a dedicated server, it needs crossplay enabled first.

Will PS5 and Switch 2 players be able to join PC friends?

Yes. Iron Gate confirmed both platforms for the 1.0 launch when it announced the release date, and has confirmed full crossplay across every platform. Neither version is playable before 9 September 2026.

Do we all need to buy the game on the same platform?

No. Crossplay means the storefront does not matter for playing together. It does matter for your save: progress does not move between storefronts, other than Xbox console to the PC Microsoft Store version.

Do I need a dedicated server to play with friends?

No — one of you can host from inside the game. You want a dedicated server when the group's schedules do not line up, when the world matters enough to keep, or when console players are involved and no one on PC wants to be the permanent host.

Does my character carry over to a friend's world?

Yes. Characters are stored separately from worlds and on each player's own machine, so you can take the same Viking into a friend's world, a public server and your own server.

What to Read Next

• Is Valheim Crossplay? PC, Xbox, PS5 & Switch 2 Explained — the platform matrix, -crossplay and cross-save.
• Getting started with your Valheim server — first boot, connecting, and making yourself admin.
• Valheim Server Settings and Launch Arguments — passwords, visibility, difficulty modifiers and the whitelist.
• Managing your Valheim server — restarts, backups and troubleshooting once people are on it.
• How to Upload Your Existing World to Your Valheim Server — bring a world you already built.
• Valheim Console Commands — admin commands for moderating a group.

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