If you’ve ever wanted to play ARK with your roommate, sibling, or partner but don’t want to shell out for a second game license, you’re not alone. I spent months testing weird workarounds, running into VAC ban scares, and dealing with “game already running” errors before I found methods that actually work consistently. If you’ve been searching for how to play ARK one copy 2 computers, you’ve probably run into just as much conflicting, outdated advice as I did. This guide only covers official, ban-safe methods that won’t put your Steam account or ARK progress at risk, no sketchy cracks or paid tools required.
First: Is It Legal to Play ARK One Copy 2 Computers?
The short answer is yes, as long as you use official Steam features instead of pirated copies or account sharing workarounds that violate Valve’s terms of service. Steam Family Sharing is the only official, ban-safe method to access your ARK library across multiple devices or share it with people in your household. Valve allows you to share your game library with up to 10 accounts across 5 trusted devices, so this is fully within their rules. But there is one catch you need to know upfront: Steam only lets one account access a shared library at a time by default. That’s where the offline mode trick comes in, which we’ll cover in the next section to let you play on both devices at the same time. Using cracked copies of ARK or third-party account spoofing tools will almost always result in a permanent VAC ban, as ARK’s official servers use VAC to detect unapproved software. Even if you only play on private servers, cracked copies often come with malware or corrupted save files that can wipe hundreds of hours of progress.
Step-by-Step Setup Using Steam Family Sharing
This method works for both playing with another person in your household and switching ARK between your own desktop and laptop when you travel. It takes less than 10 minutes to set up, and you only need a free secondary Steam account if you’re playing with another person. Follow these steps exactly to avoid errors:
- First, log into your primary Steam account (the one that owns ARK) on both of your computers. Confirm both devices as trusted via Steam Guard when prompted, as untrusted devices can’t access family sharing.
- On the second computer (the one that won’t use the primary account long-term), enable Steam Family Sharing by going to Settings > Family > checking the box that says “Authorize Library Sharing on this computer”.
- Log out of the primary account on the second computer, and log into a secondary Steam account. You can create a new account for free in 2 minutes if you don’t have an extra one lying around.
- Find ARK in the secondary account’s library, click “Play” to send an access request, then approve the request from the primary account’s Steam notification or linked email address.
- Set the first computer (running the primary account) to Steam Offline Mode before launching ARK. This stops Steam from detecting two instances of the game running under the same license at once.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you can launch ARK on both devices at the same time with no errors. You can only use this method for non-official servers or single player/co-op hosted games, as official servers block connections from Steam accounts in offline mode to prevent cheating. If you want to host a co-op game for both devices, host it on the offline primary account, then the secondary account can join via local network or IP address with no extra setup.
Troubleshooting Common Issues When Using One ARK Copy Across Two Devices
Even if you follow the steps exactly, you might run into a few common errors that most ARK players face when setting this up for the first time. These fixes take 30 seconds or less to apply, so you won’t have to waste hours debugging. The most common error is the “game already running” pop-up when you try to launch ARK on the second device. This almost always happens if you forgot to set the primary account to offline mode, or if Steam is still running in the background on one device. Fix this by fully closing Steam on both devices, restarting them, setting the primary account to offline first, then launching ARK on the primary device before opening it on the secondary. If you’re dealing with lost or overwritten save files, that’s usually because cloud sync is enabled for both accounts. Always back up your save files manually before switching between devices, and disable cloud sync for ARK on the secondary account to avoid overwriting your main progress. If the secondary account can’t join the primary’s co-op game, make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network if you’re playing locally, or that you’ve port forwarded 27015 (ARK’s default port) if you’re playing remotely across different networks.
Extra Tips to Optimize Your Cross-Device ARK Play
Once you have the basic setup working, these small tweaks will make your experience way smoother, no extra technical skills required. If you’re playing with another person, use separate character profiles on each device to avoid mixing up progress. You can do this by creating a new save folder for the secondary account in your ARK game files, so you don’t accidentally overwrite your main character’s level, tames, or base progress. If you play with mods, make sure both devices have the exact same mod list and mod versions installed. Even one missing or out-of-date mod will cause a connection error when you try to join the same game, so enable auto-update for mods on both accounts to avoid this issue. If you’re just using this method to switch between your own desktop and laptop, you don’t need a secondary account at all. Just log into your primary account on both devices, set the one you’re not using to offline mode, and you can pick up your progress right where you left off with no extra steps. You can also use free LAN tunneling tools if you want to play with someone in a different household using the same ARK copy, but just make sure the tool you use is approved by Steam to avoid any account flags.
You don’t have to drop another $60 on a second ARK license just to play with someone in your house or take your game with you when you travel. The methods we’ve laid out here are tested by thousands of ARK players, fully compliant with Steam’s terms of service, and take almost no time to set up. Just remember to stick to private or local servers when using the offline mode trick, back up your saves regularly, and avoid any third-party tools that claim to bypass Steam’s rules. Whether you’re grinding through Aberration with your best friend or taking your tames on the road for a weekend trip, knowing how to play ARK one copy 2 computers opens up a ton of new play opportunities without breaking the bank. If you run into any snags that we didn’t cover, drop a comment below and we’ll help you work through it.