While Ark Survival Ascended crossplay will be a feature for the game, the release date of when cross-platform multiplayer for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S will work is not as clear. At the time of writing, the console versions of the game have been delayed due to critical errors that developer Studio Wildcard have found in the multiplayer modes. This means that the original plan for when crossplay would be available has changed, but hopefully the schedule has not been impacted significantly. Here’s what we know so far on when you can expect cross-platform play for Ark Survival Ascended on platforms.
What is the Ark Survival Ascended crossplay release date?
The crossplay release date for Ark Survival Ascended will come in multiple steps or staggered phases to make sure that the Steam PC version of the game is polished.
As laid out by Studio Wildcard in Community Crush 381 on the game’s official website, the original plan had crossplay be rolled out in three phases. Crossplay was supposed to be available in October between Windows PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Then in December, after the various bugs in the Steam version have been resolved, they planned on having crossplay enabled for all platforms. Then some time in 2024, cross progression will be possible between all platforms as well.
The game’s delay on console, though, means that crossplay won’t be enabled until some time in November. It’s still unclear when the errors will be worked out by the studio’s quality assurance team. As noted in another blog by the team, this means that the crossplay release date for Steam will likely be delayed as well. They plan on keeping “keep crossplay between Steam and Consoles disabled until we’ve entered the quicker certification process, but that decision could change based on how things are looking with PC at the time.”
For more Ark Survival Ascended guides, here’s how to fix general crashes with the game and specific crashes at the character creation screen.