Rent an ARK Survival Ascended Server — Self-Host on a Windows VPS
Set up your own ARK Survival Ascended (ASA) server: SteamCMD install on a Windows VPS, configuration, ports, mods via CurseForge. Plus why Xbox/PS5 is a special case.
ARK Survival Ascended Server Guides
ARK: Survival Ascended (ASA) is the Unreal Engine 5 remaster of ARK: Survival Evolved, released in October 2023 by Studio Wildcard. Unlike the original, the official dedicated server for ASA only runs on Windows — Studio Wildcard has not released a native Linux build to date.
So if you want to self-host an ASA server for your group, you need a Windows VPS (or a home PC running Windows 24/7).
- Install ASA Dedicated Server on a Windows VPS — Full step-by-step guide with SteamCMD, ports, config, and auto-start
What about Xbox and PlayStation?
Up front: For consoles (Xbox and PlayStation), you cannot rent an ASA server from any provider. Studio Wildcard — same as with the predecessor ARK Survival Evolved — has licensed console server rentals to a single partner host. Third-party providers (us included) cannot offer private console servers; that’s a platform and licensing restriction, not a business decision.
Crossplay between PC, Xbox, and PlayStation does work on ASA — meaning a PC-hosted server can accept crossplay players from console, provided it’s configured correctly. The PC configuration block is covered in the install guide.
What hardware do I need for an ASA server?
From the official Studio Wildcard requirements and community experience (as of May 2026):
| Setup | RAM | Disk | CPU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum (solo / 2-4 friends, vanilla) | 12 GB | 60 GB | 4 cores, high single-core perf |
| Recommended (8-20 players, vanilla) | 16-24 GB | 80 GB | 6 cores, AMD Ryzen 7/9 or Intel i7/i9 |
| Modded (CurseForge mods, 8-20 players) | 24-32 GB | 100 GB+ | 8 cores |
| Multiple maps in parallel (cluster) | 16-32 GB per map | 80 GB per map | multi-core matters |
Important about disk: An ASA install starts at around 50-60 GB. With save files, logs, and mods, it can climb to 100+ GB. Plan for headroom.
Single-core performance matters more than raw core count for ASA — the main server tick runs on one thread. Our RespawnHost Windows VPS plans run on AMD Ryzen 9 9950X up to 5.7 GHz boost, which is the right pick for ASA hosting.