How to Join a Palworld Server on Xbox

How to Join a Palworld Server on Xbox

Unlike the Steam version of Palworld, the Xbox (and PC Game Pass) version does not support Direct IP connection. You cannot type in an IP address and port to join.

Instead, you find the server through the in-game Community Servers list. This guide explains how to join, what the server owner has to configure so the server appears on Xbox, and what to check when it does not show or times out.

For Players: How to Join

Follow these steps to find and join your server:

1. Launch Palworld on your Xbox console.
2. Select Join Multiplayer Game from the main menu.
3. Click on Community Servers (not Official Servers).
4. Use the Search Bar at the top of the screen.
   • Type in the exact name (or part of the name) of your server.
   • Tip: If the server has a generic name like "Palworld Server", it will be impossible to find. Ask your admin for the unique server name.
5. Select the server from the list and click Join.
6. Enter the server password if one is set.

For Server Admins: Making Your Server Visible on Xbox

If your players cannot find the server on Xbox, the server is almost always not configured to register with the Community Servers list, or it is not letting Xbox clients in. Three things have to be right.

1. Allow Xbox in CrossplayPlatforms

In PalWorldSettings.ini, the platforms allowed to connect are set by CrossplayPlatforms. The default already includes every platform:

CrossplayPlatforms=(Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac)

If your file names fewer platforms, add Xbox back. Older guides tell you to set AllowConnectPlatform=Xbox or an EnableCrossplay value: Pocketpair's current documentation says AllowConnectPlatform is not available in this version and CrossplayPlatforms replaces it, and EnableCrossplay has never been a server setting. Remove both if you find them in a copied config.

2. Start the server as a Community Server

Add this flag to the server's startup command line. Without it the server never publishes itself to the list, and Xbox players have no other way in.

-publiclobby

One official warning that catches home hosts: if your router does not support Hairpin NAT, players on the same local network as the server cannot connect to it through the Community Servers list, even though everyone outside can. That is a router limitation, not a Palworld setting.

3. Give the server a name that can be searched

Xbox players find your server by typing its name, so change ServerName to something distinct.

• Bad: "My Server", "Palworld"
• Good: "IronGate High Rates PVP", "ClanBase Alpha 2026"

Make sure the settings you edited are the ones the server reads. A common mistake is editing DefaultPalWorldSettings.ini and leaving the real PalWorldSettings.ini untouched; the server only reads the latter. Restart after any change.

Troubleshooting

Palworld server not showing on Xbox

Work through these in order. The first four are the admin's, the rest are the player's.

1. Same version on both ends. Since v1.0.4 the mismatch error names the version the client is trying to reach, so read both numbers. Xbox updates can land hours after the Steam build.
2. CrossplayPlatforms includes Xbox in the PalWorldSettings.ini the server actually reads, not the default file.
3. Started with -publiclobby. No flag, no listing.
4. Restarted after the change, then wait 5 to 10 minutes for the Community Servers registration to go through.
5. Search the exact name. The list loads 200 servers at a time, so a generic name is buried; type the distinctive part of the name exactly.
6. Same network as the server? See the Hairpin NAT note above. Ask a friend outside the network to search for it; if they see it, the server is fine and the router is the problem.

Palworld Xbox "Connection Timed Out"

The server shows in the list but the join fails. Usually one of these:

• The server is full, or was restarting at that moment. Try again in a minute.
• Your console NAT type is Strict or Moderate. Open NAT on the router, or enable UPnP.
• Quit the game fully from the dashboard and relaunch; a stale session on the console side is common.
• The server's UDP port (8211 by default) is not reachable from the internet. That is on the admin: see connection timed out on a dedicated server.
• If the server has a password, try joining once with the password removed to rule out a wrong or badly typed one.

Xbox player cannot join a PC server

Same checklist as above, in this order: the PC server must be a dedicated server (not a friend's invite-code world, which is capped at 4 players and has no platform bridge), its CrossplayPlatforms must include Xbox, and it must have been started with -publiclobby. A PC player can join by IP and never notice the server is missing from the Community Servers list. The Xbox player has no such fallback.

FAQ

Q: Can Xbox join a Palworld server by IP?

A: No. The Direct Connect (IP and port) option exists only in the Steam version. On Xbox and Game Pass the Community Servers list is the only way to join a dedicated server, which is why the server has to be registered there.

If that limitation is what pushes you to buy the Steam copy, you do not have to leave your character behind. The free Palworld Save Converter reads the Xbox Game Pass wgs save folder on PC and rebinds your character to your Steam ID, in your browser with nothing uploaded - level, party Pals, palbox, tech points, recipes and map unlocks all come with it. It never re-serializes the save, so the character's stored platform value is left as it was, and we have not verified this move on a live server yet: keep your original save and tell us if it does not work. (Xbox console saves are not exposed as files, so this applies to the PC Game Pass version only.)

Q: Can Xbox players join Steam servers?

A: Yes. Crossplay is the default on a Palworld dedicated server: CrossplayPlatforms=(Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac) lets Steam, Xbox, PS5 and Mac players share one server. The Xbox player still needs the server to be started with -publiclobby, because the Community Servers list is their only way in. One thing to know before you start: characters are tied to the platform account, so a person who plays on both Xbox and Steam has two separate characters on the same server.

Q: Does the server need anything else for Xbox players?

A: No. There is no Xbox Live authentication to enable, no platform mode to switch the server into, and no extra API to sign up for. Older guides that describe those steps are describing settings that do not exist in the current server build.

Running the server yourself and want to skip the setup above? Supercraft Palworld servers come with crossplay on and Community Server registration done, plus daily backups and a settings editor, so Xbox players can search for the server the moment it is up.