Install ARK Survival Ascended Dedicated Server on a Windows VPS (2026)

Can you rent an ARK: Survival Ascended server?

Short, honest answer: not from us — or almost any other host. Studio Wildcard/Snail Games licensed the commercial rental of ASA game servers exclusively to a single provider (Nitrado) — other hosts may not offer managed ARK Ascended servers. This applies to ASA and future ARK titles; if you’re looking for the older ARK Survival Evolved: it isn’t affected by the exclusivity, but is no longer actively developed.

The good news: self-hosting is explicitly allowed — on your own hardware or a rented VPS, for private, non-commercial use (donations to cover costs are fine, profit is not). After a community petition in 2023, Wildcard dropped all planned self-hosting restrictions. Even console crossplay works on self-hosted servers (see below). That’s exactly what this guide shows you — step by step on a Windows VPS, plus the Linux route.

Prerequisites

Before you start, have the following ready:

• Windows VPS with Windows Server 2019/2022 or Windows 10/11 — see our Windows VPS plans. Realistic minimum: 16 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD, 4 cores.
• Administrator access to the Windows server (Remote Desktop / RDP).
• Public IPv4 address with control over the firewall.
• C++ Redistributable and DirectX Runtime — preinstalled on most Windows VPS images. If not, grab them from Microsoft.

You do not need a copy of ARK in your Steam library on the server. The dedicated server is a separate, freely available Steam package.

Step 1: Install SteamCMD

SteamCMD is Valve’s command-line tool for downloading and updating Steam dedicated servers.

1. Create a directory, e.g. C:\SteamCMD\
2. Download SteamCMD from the official source: steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd.zip
3. Extract steamcmd.exe to C:\SteamCMD\
4. Double-click steamcmd.exe — on first run it updates itself, takes 1-2 minutes

Step 2: Download the ASA Dedicated Server

The ARK Survival Ascended Dedicated Server has Steam AppID 2430930 and is downloadable anonymously (no account login).

In the SteamCMD console:

login anonymous
force_install_dir C:\ASA\
app_update 2430930 validate
quit

That downloads the server (about 50-60 GB) to C:\ASA\. On a modern internet connection, expect 20-45 minutes.

While that runs, you can configure the firewall in parallel.

Step 3: Open firewall ports

ASA uses these default ports — all UDP (except RCON):

Port	Protocol	Purpose
7777	UDP	Game port (main connection)
7778	UDP	Raw UDP port (engine-reserved)
27015	UDP	Steam Query port (server listing, ping)
27020	TCP	RCON (optional, for admin tools)

In an administrative PowerShell on the Windows VPS:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "ASA Game" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 7777,7778 -Action Allow
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "ASA Query" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 27015 -Action Allow
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "ASA RCON" -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 27020 -Action Allow

If your VPS provider has an external firewall (e.g. in a cloud console) in addition to the Windows firewall, the ports must be open there too. With RespawnHost Windows VPS you have direct firewall control, so the PowerShell block is enough.

Step 4: First start (default map “TheIsland”)

Before we configure anything, let’s start the server once. It then creates the required directories and a default configuration.

Create a StartServer.bat in C:\ASA\ with the following content:

@echo off
cd /d "C:\ASA\ShooterGame\Binaries\Win64"
start ArkAscendedServer.exe TheIsland_WP?listen?Port=7777?QueryPort=27015?RCONEnabled=True?RCONPort=27020 -server -log -NoBattlEye

Parameter explanation:

• TheIsland_WP — the default map “The Island” (WP = World Partition, the new map loader for ASA)
• listen — server listens for connections
• Port=7777 QueryPort=27015 RCONPort=27020 — the ports from above
• RCONEnabled=True — enable RCON for remote admin
• -server -log — start as a server, show log output
• -NoBattlEye — disable BattlEye. Recommended for private servers, as BattlEye on hoster setups often produces false positives. If you run a public server and want to keep cheaters out, leave it off.

Double-click StartServer.bat. The first start takes 5-10 minutes because the server builds the world. You see the ASA server window with logs scrolling.

Once “Setting breakpad minidump AppID” appears, followed shortly by “ready for connections”, the server is online.

Test: open ARK Survival Ascended → Multiplayer → Filter → enter IP → join. If you can join, the basics work.

Step 5: Configure the server

The most important config now lives at:

• C:\ASA\ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\GameUserSettings.ini — general server settings, player count, spawn rates
• C:\ASA\ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\Game.ini — engram tweaks, resource multipliers, custom values

Example GameUserSettings.ini — extend the [ServerSettings] block:

[ServerSettings]
ServerAdminPassword=YourAdminPasswordHere
ServerPassword=
DifficultyOffset=1.0
OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0
XPMultiplier=2.0
TamingSpeedMultiplier=3.0
HarvestAmountMultiplier=2.0
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier=0.5
PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier=0.5
RCONEnabled=True
RCONPort=27020

[SessionSettings]
SessionName=YourServerName
Port=7777
QueryPort=27015

Security note: Set ServerAdminPassword to a long, random string and share it only with co-admins. Anyone with that password can run all admin commands on the server.

After any config change, stop the server (close the console window or via RCON saveworld + doexit) and restart it.

Step 6: Install mods (CurseForge)

ASA does not use the Steam Workshop like the predecessor. Instead, the mod system runs through CurseForge.

In GameUserSettings.ini, add a [ModInstaller] block:

[ModInstaller]
ModIDS=929420,930589

Mod IDs are in the CurseForge URL: curseforge.com/ark-survival-ascended/mods/super-cryopod → the ID at the bottom of the page.

On the next server start, ASA downloads the mods into the right folder automatically. You can add to the mod list any time — restart pulls new mods.

Mod conflicts are more common in ASA than in ARK SE. On crashes after a mod install, check ShooterGame.log and disable non-essential mods one by one.

Step 7: Auto-start as a Windows task

To make the server come back automatically after a reboot, set it up as a Windows scheduled task:

1. Open Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc)
2. Create Task…
3. Name: ASA Server Auto-Start
4. Tab General: enable “Run with highest privileges” and “Run whether user is logged on or not”
5. Tab Triggers: New trigger → “At startup”
6. Tab Actions: New action → “Start a program” → path to C:\ASA\StartServer.bat
7. Tab Conditions: untick “Start the task only if the computer is on AC power” (otherwise it doesn’t start on battery-powered machines)
8. OK and enter the admin password

On the next VPS reboot, the ASA server starts automatically.

Step 8: Apply updates

When Studio Wildcard ships an update (often after patches), stop the server and run SteamCMD again:

login anonymous
force_install_dir C:\ASA\
app_update 2430930 validate
quit

validate also checks for corrupted files — on crash loops, just let it run, often fixes the symptoms.

Common issues

”Server doesn’t show up in the browser”

ASA’s browser filter is strict. Try “Join via IP” instead of the global browser. If that doesn’t work either, check whether port 27015 UDP is actually open (e.g. via portchecker.co).

”Server crashes after 5-10 minutes of play”

Usually too little RAM. ASA with a full map needs 16+ GB. Watch memory usage in Task Manager.

”Mods don’t load”

Check the CurseForge mod IDs (typos are common) and check ShooterGame.log for mod load errors. Some mods require a specific server version.

”BattlEye won’t let the server start”

If the server doesn’t start with -NoBattlEye, check whether BattlEye was installed separately. When in doubt set -NoBattlEye and run without.

Consoles (Xbox / PlayStation) — special case

As noted on the ASA landing page: private console dedicated servers for ASA are not available from arbitrary hosts. Studio Wildcard handed console hosting to a single licensed partner. For private console server needs, there is currently no way around that one provider.

Self-hosted PC servers can still accept crossplay players from Xbox and PlayStation. This is controlled via the -ServerPlatform= launch parameter (the older bCrossplay flag is obsolete):

-ServerPlatform=ALL          # all platforms
-ServerPlatform=PC+XSX+PS5   # combine explicitly (PC, Xbox Series, PS5)
-ServerPlatform=PC           # Steam/PC only

Note: with console crossplay, only console-compatible CurseForge mods work.

ASA on a Linux VPS (no native build!)

Important: ASA has no native Linux server. On a Linux VPS the Windows server still runs — through the Proton/GE-Proton compatibility layer. Two proven community routes (as of 2026, both actively maintained):

1. Install script cdp1337/ARKSurvivalAscended-Linux — sets up SteamCMD, GE-Proton and systemd services automatically. Supports Debian 12/13 and Ubuntu 22.04/24.04. The most convenient route on a Linux VPS.
2. Docker image acekorneya/asa_server (POK manager) — container with Proton, multi-instance support and AsaApi plugin support.

Hardware is the same as on Windows: at least 12 GB, 16 GB recommended per instance (more with mods), ~11 GB base install → plan 40+ GB SSD, high single-thread performance.

Concrete recommendation

• Private server for 4-8 friends, vanilla, one map → 16 GB RAM Windows VPS
• 20-slot community server with a few mods → 24-32 GB RAM Windows VPS
• Multiple maps clustered → multiple Windows VPS instances, budget the same RAM again per additional map

VPS plans are billed in 30-day periods charged from your balance in advance — unlike our game servers, there is no per-second billing here. Current prices are on the plans page.

See Windows VPS plans for ASA | More on SFTP for large ASA saves