Palworld Crossplay Server: Steam, Xbox, PS5 and Mac Together

Since version 0.5.0 of 19 March 2025, Steam on PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 and Mac all play together in the same Palworld world. A dedicated server supports that out of the box: every platform connects to the same server address and shares one persistent world that keeps ticking when nobody is online, with a maximum of 32 players. The one hard limit is mods, because Xbox, Game Pass and PlayStation 5 cannot load PAK mods or PalSchema.

Which platforms play together on a Palworld server?

Crossplay is not a switch you flip. It has been baked into the game and the server software since version 0.5.0, so you do not need a second server for consoles. Server software exists for Windows, Linux and Mac; your players will never notice which of the three your host runs.

So you share one address and one password, and everybody ends up in the same world: the same base, the same Pals, the same guild.

How does that differ from a world someone hosts from the game?

Palworld also lets you open a world straight from the game. That works, but the save then sits on the host's device, and the moment that person closes the game the world is gone for everyone.

A dedicated server runs independently of everyone. The world lives on the server, time keeps passing, Pals keep working and the save is not tied to whichever player happened to launch the game. With a mixed group you feel the difference immediately: someone on PS5 plays in the evening, someone on Steam during the day, and they build the same camp without waiting on each other. On top of that, in-game hosting makes the host run the game and the world on one device. If you want to set up a dedicated server from scratch, our article on how to build a Palworld server covers it step by step.

How do console and Mac players connect to the server?

Connecting works the same way on every platform. The wording in the menu varies by version; the order does not.

1. The host shares the server address, meaning the IP address with the port after it, plus the password if one is set.
2. The player launches Palworld, picks the multiplayer option in the main menu and then the dedicated server list.
3. Find the server by name in that list, or type the address in manually.
4. Enter the password when prompted.
5. Create a character. That character belongs to this server and is separate from your single-player world.

Two practical notes. Typing an address with a controller is miserable, so have console players save the server as a favourite. And a console player complaining about delay usually has a ping problem, not a server problem. Our explanation of TPS, MSPT, FPS and ping shows how to tell the two apart before you start tinkering with the server.

Why do mods stop working once console players join?

This is where crossplay costs you something. Mods in Palworld are PC territory. Xbox, the Game Pass version on PC (a different build, WinGDK) and PlayStation 5 cannot load PAK mods or PalSchema, because consoles are not allowed to side-load archives or DLL files. No setting works around that.

For a mixed crowd, two honest options remain:

• Keep the server vanilla. Everyone plays the same game and nobody gets left out. For most groups this is the right call.
• Stick to cosmetic mods that PC players install themselves. Those only change what that one player sees and never touch the world on the server.

So do not build a server around content mods hoping the PS5 player will manage somehow. If you want a modded world, deliberately go for a PC-only server and say so up front.

Which settings should you get right for a mixed group?

Everything lives in PalWorldSettings.ini, which on a Linux server sits in Pal/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/. The procedure is always the same:

1. Shut the server down. Edit the file while the server is running and your changes get overwritten on restart.
2. Search directly for the name of the setting you need, and only start the server again afterwards.

If PalWorldSettings.ini does not exist yet, or you want the full picture, our article on PalWorldSettings.ini explains how to copy DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini and which of the settings genuinely matter.

In that same file, set a server password and a separate admin password, and do not reuse the same one twice. Without a password, sooner or later somebody who does not belong will find your world. If you want PvP, you have to enable three switches together: bIsPvP, bEnablePlayerToPlayerDamage and bEnableDefenseOtherGuildPlayer. Turning on just one does nothing; that is the single most asked question on every server where PvP "does not work".

Beyond that, these are the softeners most commonly applied on private servers: ExpRate at 2 to 3 so your group stays level with each other, PalEggDefaultHatchingTime at 5 to 10 instead of the default 72 hours, DeathPenalty at None (which mostly saves console players still getting used to the controls) and WorkSpeedRate at 1.5, which indirectly speeds up breeding too because Pals at the breeding farm work faster. The Sakurajima update from mid-2025 added settings for that island and Tower of Mercy in early 2026 added options for scaling raid difficulty, so check the default file again after any big update.

How much RAM does a crossplay server need?

Your players' platform makes no difference at all to memory use: a PS5 player costs the server exactly as much as a Steam player. What counts is the number of players and whether you run mods.

The official documentation asks for "4 cores or more", although in practice per-core performance counts for more than the count itself. Above roughly 24 players you will get occasional stutters regardless: a game engine limit, not a hardware one.

With a world that runs permanently, factor in the memory leak too: the server process climbs in memory use the longer it runs, and no settings-based fix solves that completely. What does work is a scheduled automatic restart, usually every 6 to 12 hours, which clears the memory; adding extra RAM does not. How hard your server leaks and which rhythm suits it is covered in our explanation of the memory leak. More maintenance pointers are in our general hosting tips for Palworld.

Which MC-Node plan suits your group?

Our Palworld plans cost a flat EUR 1.50 per GB of RAM, always with 1.25 GB of NVMe storage per GB. So you choose on group size, not on a feature checklist.

A mixed crowd of a handful of friends will be well served by Gumoss plus a scheduled restart; Depresso is the safe choice if you expect to grow. In-between sizes exist as well: Fuddler 20 GB at EUR 30.00, Teafant 24 GB at EUR 36.00 and Killamari 28 GB at EUR 42.00.

The Pterodactyl panel has scheduled tasks, so that restart against the memory leak takes a minute to set up with no scripts. Automatic backups run alongside, which is hardly a luxury on a shared world five people are building. Beyond that: NVMe storage, DDoS protection from PletX and our own hardware in the Previder PDC2 data centre in Hengelo, alongside Frankfurt, Warsaw and North America. Current plans are listed at Palworld hosting from MC-Node.

Frequently asked questions

Can PS5 and Steam players share the same Palworld server? Yes. Since version 0.5.0 of 19 March 2025, Steam on PC, Xbox Series X|S and One, PlayStation 5 and Mac all play in the same world. On a dedicated server it works exactly the same: every platform connects to the same address and shares one persistent world.

Do mods work on a crossplay server? No, not once console players join. Xbox, the Game Pass build on PC (WinGDK) and PlayStation 5 cannot load PAK mods or PalSchema. Keep the server vanilla in that case, or stick to cosmetic mods that PC players install themselves.

Do I need a separate server for console players? No. Crossplay has been in the game and the server software since version 0.5.0, so Steam, Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Mac all connect to the same server address and share the same world. Server software exists for Windows, Linux and Mac; your players will never notice which one your host runs.

How much RAM do I need for four friends on different platforms? Pocketpair officially recommends 16 GB. With 4 to 6 players 8 GB runs too, but with no headroom, and Pocketpair flags that configuration as crash-prone itself. Your players' platform changes none of that.

Why do I have to restart my Palworld server every day? The server process climbs in memory use the longer it runs. A server for 4 players starting at 5 GB can be pushing 8 GB a week later. A scheduled restart every 6 to 12 hours clears the memory; adding extra RAM does not fix it.

Further reading

• Palworld With 20 Players or More: Where the Limit Sits
• Enabling PvP on your Palworld server: the three switches
• Palworld mods on a dedicated server: what works and what doesn't