Your friend just picked up Palworld on PS5, booted it up, and asked for your server’s IP address. There is no field anywhere in the PS5 version of the game to type one into. Nothing is broken on your end; the direct-connect address that gets your PC friends in every time simply is not an option on a PlayStation controller. That single fact changes the entire job of running a Palworld PS5 dedicated server for a mixed group of platforms. The real work, still current through Palworld’s version 1.0 launch in July 2026, is making your server visible to a console that can only ever find a server by searching for it.
Yes, PS5 Players Can Join Your Server
Since version 0.5.0, Steam, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Mac players all connect to the same dedicated server. There is no separate PS5-only server type and no PS5 edition of your world. Palworld PS5 crossplay means one server and four platforms, sharing the same map, the same Pals, and the same base camps. The version 1.0 launch in July 2026 kept that structure in place across PS5, Xbox, and PC; Nintendo Switch remains the one major platform Palworld still has not released on.
Apex already runs every Palworld server on the crossplay-capable build, so there is no separate install, no config file swap, and no extra download standing between a PS5 player and your world. What actually decides whether that PS5 player finds you lives in four panel settings, covered next.
The Catch: PS5 Has No IP Entry
Steam players open Join Multiplayer Game, choose Direct Connect, and paste an IP address and port straight from a message in Discord. PS5 has no equivalent option, and neither does Xbox. Both console versions of Palworld expose only a Community Servers browser: a search box and a list of results. No menu on a PS5 controller accepts a typed address, however carefully your friend copies it down.
This isn’t a Palworld-specific bug. The console versions of the game just do not expose a raw-address field the way the PC version does, and Xbox works the same way. That leaves exactly one path onto your server for a PS5 player: your server has to be registered as a community server, and it has to turn up when they search its name.
Setting Up Your Apex Server to Welcome PS5 Players
Hosting a Palworld dedicated server for PS5 players comes down to four settings. Get them right and PS5, Xbox, Steam, and Mac players end up in the same lobby without anyone touching a configuration file by hand.
- Head towards your Apex server panel and open Customizations, under Server Configuration. Confirm Cross Play is checked under Server Settings. Apex leaves it on by default, but it’s worth a quick double-check if a console friend is already having trouble.
- On the same Customizations screen, scroll to Startup Flags and turn on Palworld Community Server Setting. This is Apex’s toggle for what Palworld itself calls the -publiclobby launch option in Pocketpair’s own community server documentation, and it’s the one setting that actually registers your server with the in-game Community Servers list PS5 and Xbox players search from.
- While you’re there, set a distinctive Public Server Name under Server Settings. A generic name buries itself the moment more than a handful of servers share similar wording, and your PS5 friend has to search that exact name to find you.
- Open Config Files, then Palworld Game Settings, and find Allowed Platforms. Confirm PS5 appears in the list alongside Steam, Xbox, and Mac. The default value is (Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac), so unless someone trimmed a platform out deliberately, PS5 should already be there. Scroll to the bottom and click Save if you change anything.
- Restart the server to apply. Startup Flags and platform changes only take effect on the next boot, even though the panel saves everything immediately.
No port forwarding, no separate PS5 build, nothing outside these four settings and a restart. Every Palworld server hosting plan on Apex includes PS5 crossplay support, configured this same way from day one.
How a PS5 Player Actually Joins Your Server
None of this requires anything unusual from the player, just the right menu. From the Palworld main menu on PS5, select Join Multiplayer Game, then Community Servers. Type your exact Public Server Name into the search box and confirm the search. Select your server from the results, enter the server password if you’ve set one, and connect.
Every variable that decides whether that search succeeds sits in your panel, not on the PS5 itself. That makes this the rare crossplay problem where the fix is never on the joining player’s side. If a friend on any platform still can’t connect once someone is already in the lobby, Palworld server common issues, solutions, and bugs covers the problems that show up after a successful join.
PS5-Specific Caveats to Know
A few limits sit outside your panel entirely, worth knowing before a PS5 friend assumes your setup is broken.
PlayStation Plus is required for a PS5 player to join any online Palworld server, community servers included. PlayStation’s own store listing for Palworld confirms PS Plus is required for online play. That requirement lives on your friend’s PlayStation account, not your server configuration, and no panel setting works around it.
The Community Servers search itself can be inconsistent about refreshing its results. If a correctly spelled search comes up empty right after you’ve turned on the Community Server Setting and restarted, wait a few minutes and search again before assuming something is misconfigured. And because PS5 has no IP fallback the way Steam does, a failed search is the only symptom you’ll ever see; there’s no secondary “try the direct address instead” option to hand a PS5 player the way there is for PC. If everything above checks out and a PS5 friend still can’t connect, our 24/7 Support Team can check server logs directly and confirm whether the problem is server-side at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can PS5 and PC Players Play Together in Palworld?
Yes. Since the version 0.5.0 update, Steam, Xbox, PS5, and Mac players share the same dedicated server without a separate edition or workaround needed on either side.
Why Can’t My PS5 Friend See My Server?
Work through this order: Palworld Community Server Setting turned off, PS5 missing from Allowed Platforms, a misspelled or overly generic Public Server Name, or a settings change that hasn’t taken effect yet because the server hasn’t been restarted. Any one of these keeps a PS5 search from ever returning your server.
Does a PS5 Player Need PlayStation Plus to Join?
Yes. PlayStation’s own storefront confirms PS Plus is required for online play on PS5, and that covers community servers the same as any other online session. It’s a requirement on the player’s PlayStation account, not something a server owner can enable or bypass from the panel.
Do I Need a Dedicated IP for PS5 Players to Connect?
No. A dedicated IP only helps players who connect by typing an address directly, and PS5 can’t do that under any circumstance. It still matters for your Steam players; our guide on how to join a Palworld server covers that direct-connect method. PS5 access depends entirely on the Community Server Setting and Allowed Platforms, never on the address itself.
Does Listing My Server as a Community Server Make It Public to Strangers?
Not necessarily. Being listed and being open are different things. A Server Password set under Customizations still gates who can actually connect, even though the listing itself is searchable by name. A distinctive Public Server Name plus a password keeps a server functionally private to your group while staying reachable for the PS5 players you actually want in it. Our Palworld knowledgebase covers the rest of the Customizations and Config Files settings if you’re setting up a new server from scratch.
