Valheim runs multiplayer on two different backends, and which one your server uses decides who can join it. This trips up more new server owners than anything else, so it is worth two minutes before you hand the address to your friends.
The two backends
The Steam backend is Valheim's default. Only Steam users can see the server or join it. If your whole group is on PC through Steam, this works fine.
The crossplay backend routes traffic through a relay instead. Players on any platform can join, which since the 1.0 release (September 9, 2026) means PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 together in one world.
If anyone in your group is on a console, you want the crossplay backend.
Turning crossplay on
Your server starts with crossplay switched off. That is Valheim's default, not something we have chosen for you. Switching it on takes a few steps, because the setting lives on a custom commandline rather than the default one your server ships with:
- Open your Valheim service and go to Commandline Manager.
- Switch to the Custom Commandlines tab and choose New.
- Tick Crossplay, and set the server name, password and world name to match what your server already uses.
- Save the commandline, select it, and restart the server.
The reason it is not a single tick: a new server runs the Default predefined commandline, and that one has no crossplay option on it. Creating a custom commandline is how you add the setting. Copy your existing name, password and world across carefully — a custom commandline replaces the default one rather than adding to it.
Leave it off and your server is Steam-only. There is no half-way setting: a server is on one backend or the other, and switching means a restart.
Worth knowing before you flip it: crossplay hands your traffic to Valheim's own relay rather than connecting players straight to the server. For an all-Steam group there is nothing to gain by turning it on, so if nobody is on a console, leave it alone.
Joining a crossplay server
Three ways in:
- The server list — your server appears there by name.
- IP and port — use the address on your service page.
- A join code — the quickest way to get a console player in.
One thing that catches people out: on the crossplay backend you cannot connect using a local network address or a loopback address. Even if the server is in the same house, you join it by its public address, its join code, or the list.
Joining a Steam-backend server
Use the Join IP button with your server's address and port, or find it in the server list.
About the port number
Valheim uses two ports: the one you set and the one directly above it. The defaults are 2456 and 2457. On a GG Host server this is already handled, and the address on your service page is the one to hand out.
The port still matters on crossplay even though nothing is being forwarded, because it is how several servers on one address are told apart.
If your players cannot see the server
Work down this list:
- A console player cannot find it — the server is on the Steam backend. That is the whole ballgame; nothing else will fix it. Turn on crossplay and restart.
- A Steam player cannot find it in the list — check the server is actually running, and that you are looking under the right name. GG Host Valheim servers are listed publicly, so a running server should appear.
- One person is refused while everyone else is fine — check whether a permitted list is in play. See admin and permissions, and read the warning in it before you touch that file.
Good to know
Valheim 1.0 is a 1–10 player game. Iron Gate confirmed the cap is unchanged from Early Access, so a ten-player world is the ceiling however you connect.
Crossplay covers play, not saves. Save syncing between platforms only exists between Xbox and a PC copy launched from the Microsoft Store. Your server world sidesteps this entirely, which is a decent reason to run one: the world lives on the server, not on anyone's console.
Next: the Deep North and your existing world · admin, permissions and world settings.
