Unless you are a dinosaur (bad pun intended), you have probably heard of Ark: Survival Evolved. We are guilty of spending hours playing Ark building shelters and cowering in our modest and niggardly homes from menacing reptiles.
Some of the most fun we had with the game was when we played Ark: Survival Evolved with our friends. The maps become ten times more entertaining when you have a whole community trying to get through another day on an island roaming with dinosaurs and beasts. Plus, we appreciate the occasional hostility from other players. It’s an open-ended PvP if you will. But what if your friends own a different gaming system? Is Ark: Survival Evolved cross-platform? Let us take a look.
The good news is, yes! Ark: Survival Evolved allows cross-play between platforms to some extent. Cross-platform play is not available across all platforms and while this is an odd choice considering Ark is primarily a game with active online interaction. Ark: Survival Evolved allows cross-play for Android and iOS devices, as well as Xbox and PC gamers.
Curious to know more? We bet! We suggest you keep reading to find out all you need to know about cross-platform play in Ark: Survival Evolved so you can dive into your next game with your friends. By the end of this article, you will know everything there is regarding multiplayer in Ark across platforms. Without further ado, let us answer your question: Is Ark: Survival Evolved cross-platform?
Does ARK Have Cross-Play?
Studio Wildcard’s 2017 gem took the world by storm with its unique take on the survival genre. It incorporated familiar elements in an unfamiliar setting and it was received by the public and critics extremely well.
As a man or woman stranded naked, freezing, and starving on the shores of a mysterious island called ARK, you must hunt, harvest resources, craft items, grow crops, research technologies, and build shelters to withstand the elements.
Ark: Survival Evolved may not be the hottest thing on the market, even during its year of release, but it has a reputation for being a very consistent game. It makes for a good pastime to play along with your other games. Its charm lies in the subtle relaxation as you are running from dinosaurs who want your blood.
Ark: Survival Evolved is the love child of Minecraft and Monster Hunter. With over 176 types of dinosaurs and 100 types of weapons, the only motive of ARK is to survive. If you want to form peaceful alliances with neighboring tribes, go for it. Alternatively, you can do what we did and become stone-hearted killers set on conquering the island one step at a time.
We are not sorry. It was fun.
Multiplayer in ARK
While it is an entertaining game on its own, Ark becomes much more enjoyable once you have a group of friends equally as keep to be glued to the screen for hours to come. The extreme challenges that the game throws your way also become tolerable and fun.
A key feature of Ark multiplayer is the option to form tribes. Tribes are like clans where you can pool your resources and contribute to each other’s well-being and survival. Tribe members can share their tamed dinosaurs, harvests, members, and shelters. It’s a heartwarming experience. Too bad we were busy destroying said tribes.
The maximum number of tribes varies from server to server.
There are quite a few ways you can decide to approach Ark’s multiplayer with your friends. One option is creating a dedicated server just for your small party. Alternatively, join a common server and meet each other there. It’s like an online meetup at your IRL meetup. Ain’t that a hoot?
Cross-Play in ARK
This is what you came for, and we do not mean the Rihanna song. Cross-Play or cross-platform play is the term used to describe online play across a spectrum of gaming platforms and devices. For instance, a PS4 player enjoying a hearty game of Fortnite with his friend on a PC would be termed as Cross-Play.
ARK is available on PS4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and OSX since 2017. There are versions for android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch (released in 2018).
Yes, ARK does allow some Cross-Play across devices, but it still has room for growth. This seems like an odd creative choice because limiting cross-platform play in a game that encourages you to play online seems counterproductive. There are mainly 2 types of Cross-Play that ARK: Survival Evolved allows.
Android and iOS
The best part about ARK is that you can enjoy it on a number of devices, including your handheld phone. Android and iOS players can enjoy the game together as cross-platform play is valid across iOS and Android devices. The best part about this is that you can transfer your data if you are switching from an iPhone to an Android and vice versa and pick up where you off left with your friends. Gotta appreciate the accessibility, folks.
PC and Xbox
There are some limitations here as well, but it is possible for PC and Xbox players to enjoy ARK without turning it into a debate about gaming master races. However, It is important to know that ARK bought was from Microsoft Store on Windows 10 ONLY cross-platform compatible with Xbox One. ARK bought from the Steam store is not cross-platform compatible with Xbox One.
Odd, right? Tell us about it. This is because the Windows 10 version and Steam version are on different servers and cannot interact. Users having MacOS cannot interact or play with anyone else besides MacOS ARK players.
Platforms Not Supporting ARK Cross-Play
There is a small number of platforms that support cross-platform play for ARK: Survival Evolved. Here are all the platforms that do not have cross-play.
- macOS and any other platform
- PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5 and Xbox
- PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5 and PC
- PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5 and Mobile
- PlayStation 4/PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch
- Xbox and Mobile
- Xbox and Nintendo Switch
Some of these make sense, like PlayStation and Nintendo. Considering that the two of them are rival companies and the handheld experience is undoubtedly much different, no Cross-Play can be justified. However, exceptions are not unheard of.
Things to Note
There are a few things we will leave you with regarding Cross-play and general online play in ARK: Survival Evolved.
Firstly, why do players want cross-play anyway? Well, the gaming market has seen a boom in development over the last decade with novel and diverse platforms emerging every year. Players would naturally want to create some fond memories of gaming with their pals but being barred from that can definitely be upsetting.
ARK can be a tedious and tough game. Difficult extreme situations like taming tough beasts in ARK definitely require the helping hands of your buddies but the players frequently face the restrictions of cross-play/cross-platform which halt their ability to build a tribe of their friends.
Aside from hunting exotic/medieval creatures with buddies on an inhabited island, Cross-platform play would mean no separate servers for each console/PC and hence, more players on each server would be present enhancing the game experience
That also translates to less development time and more updates sooner for everyone, rather than patches/updates just for a specific console/device.
It is important to note that anyone from any console follows the same rules and regulations of the game and that there is no unfair advantage for any console/device. This is also one of the limiting factors behind the lack of universal Cross-Play.
A bright side to look at this can be that although ARK is not cross-platform compatible with all platforms, it is still cross-gen, which means PS4 players can play with PS5 players and the same goes for the series Xbox.
Conclusion
There you have it gamers. That concludes our guide on whether ARK: Survival Evolved is Cross-Platform or not. It depends on developers for ARK to be cross-platform compatible in the future. However, that doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Right now, there seem to be no plans from Studio Wildcard to expand its cross-play functionality since it is quite complex however, hope shouldn’t be lost since it has made some progress with Xbox, PC /Android, and iOS cross-platform compatibility. The open-world game itself is worth trying out on any console that you may have.
We sincerely hope that this guide helped you understand more about the cross-play options and limitations of ARK: Survival Evolved. If it did, be sure to leave a comment below and let us know. Your feedback is much appreciated. Cheers to another day’s survival on ARK, friends!
