Last month, I brought my Switch to a friend’s cabin planning to marathon Ark: Survival Evolved for the weekend, only to stop mid-pack and wonder: is Ark 2 player on the Switch? I’d spent 100+ hours playing the open-world dinosaur survival game solo on my PC, but I’d never tested the console’s multiplayer limits before. If you’re in the same boat, wondering if you can team up with a friend to tame T-Rexes, build fortified bases, and fight off raiders without switching to a different console, you’re in the right place. I tested every multiplayer mode on the Switch version of Ark over the past two weeks, so I can break down exactly what works, what doesn’t, and how to get the most out of co-op play. Note that this guide applies to Ark: Survival Evolved, not the upcoming Ark 2, which does not have a confirmed Switch release date as of this writing.
Is Ark 2 Player on the Switch? Breaking Down Supported Multiplayer Modes
Yes, Ark supports 2 player play on the Nintendo Switch via both local split-screen and online co-op modes, so you can team up with a friend to take on the game’s harsh prehistoric world. Local split-screen co-op for 2 players is fully supported on both the standard Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED models, no extra purchases required outside of the base game. For online play, you can join public or private servers with up to 8 total players, so 2 player online sessions work seamlessly as well.
That said, there are a few basic limits to be aware of before you get started. Split-screen play is only available in TV or tabletop mode, as the handheld screen is too small to support two separate views without making text and small objects unreadable. You also can’t mix local and online play on Switch, meaning you can’t have one local split-screen player join an online server with other remote players, a limitation that’s unique to the Switch port of the game.
For most casual players, these limits won’t be a dealbreaker. I mostly play split-screen with my roommate on our TV, and we’ve never run into issues with the core gameplay loop. If you’re looking to play with friends who live in different areas, online 2 player works just as well as it does on other consoles, as long as you both have stable internet connections.
How to Set Up 2 Player Local Co-Op on Ark for Switch
Setting up local 2 player play on Switch is pretty straightforward, though there are a few easy-to-miss steps that can leave you stuck if you don’t know what to look for. I fumbled through the menus for 10 minutes my first time trying to set it up, so follow these steps to save yourself the frustration:
- Launch Ark: Survival Evolved on your Switch while connected to a TV or in tabletop mode with a secure stand
- Connect a second controller (you can use paired individual Joy-Cons, a full Pro Controller, or any third-party controller compatible with Switch)
- Load your existing single-player save file or start a new single-player world from the main menu
- Open the in-game menu, navigate to the Host/Local tab, and toggle on the "Enable Split Screen" option
- Have the second player press any button on their controller to join the session as a new survivor
You can’t transfer existing single-player characters to a split-screen session, so the second player will need to create a new survivor from scratch when they join. This was my biggest disappointment when I first tested the mode, as I wanted to bring my level 92 character with all my tamed dinos to play with my friend. You can work around this by spawning in basic gear for the new player using admin commands if you’re hosting a private world, but that’s only recommended if you don’t care about keeping your playthrough vanilla.
By default, split-screen is set to a vertical split, with one player on the top half of the screen and one on the bottom. You can change this to a horizontal split in the settings menu if you prefer, but I found the vertical split works better for the Switch’s 16:9 aspect ratio, as it keeps text readable for both players.
Tips for Smooth 2 Player Play on Ark Switch
Ark is a notoriously resource-heavy game, and the Switch’s limited hardware means you’ll have to make a few small adjustments to keep your 2 player sessions running smoothly. After testing dozens of setting combinations over two weeks of play, these are the tweaks that made the biggest difference for me:
Lower the view distance and turn off dynamic shadows to reduce frame drops during split-screen play. The default view distance on Switch is set to medium, but dropping it to low cuts down on the number of assets the console has to render at once, boosting frame rates by 5-10 FPS in most areas. Dynamic shadows are the biggest performance hog, so turning them off entirely will almost eliminate stuttering when you’re exploring dense forest areas or have multiple large dinos near your base.
If you’re playing online 2 player, make sure both players have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription. You don’t need a subscription for local split-screen play, but online play requires it just like most other Switch multiplayer games. For the best experience, rent a small private server instead of joining public lobbies. Public servers often have high ping, frequent crashes, or hostile players that will destroy your base while you’re offline, while a private 8-slot server is cheap and lets you adjust settings like resource spawn rates and dinosaur damage to fit your playstyle.
Try to limit the number of dinos you bring with you on group trips. I learned this the hard way when I brought 6 tamed dinos with my friend on a metal mining run, and the game crashed mid-trip, making us lose all the resources we’d collected. The Switch struggles to render more than 3-4 large creatures at once during split-screen play, so leave extra dinos at your base unless you absolutely need them for a big fight.
Limitations of 2 Player Ark on Switch You Should Know About
While 2 player play on Switch is fully functional, it’s not perfect, and there are a few limitations that are worth knowing before you invest time into a co-op playthrough. Most of these are tied to the Switch’s hardware constraints, so they’re unlikely to be fixed in future patches.
There is no cross-play support between Switch Ark and other console or PC versions. That means if your friend owns the game on PlayStation, Xbox, or PC, you won’t be able to play with them online. This was a big letdown for me, as most of my Ark friends play on PC, so I can only play co-op with people who also own a Switch copy of the game.
Second player progress is tied to the host’s save file. If you’re the second player joining your friend’s local world, you can’t take your character or items to your own Switch later. All progress is saved locally on the host’s console, so you’ll only be able to access that character when you’re playing on their device. If you plan to play together long-term, decide who will be the host ahead of time so you don’t lose progress if you switch devices.
Performance will drop during busy in-game events or large PVP fights. If you’re playing on a public server with 7 other players, expect frame rates to drop to 15-20 FPS during big raids or world boss fights. This doesn’t make the game unplayable, but it does put Switch players at a disadvantage compared to users on higher-end hardware if you’re playing competitive PVP.
As of the latest patch, the new Ark: Survival Ascended remake is not available on Switch, so all the 2 player features listed here only apply to the original Ark: Survival Evolved. The developer has announced a Switch port of Survival Ascended is in development, but there’s no confirmed release date yet, so you’ll have to stick to the original game for now if you want to play 2 player on Switch.
At the end of the day, if you’ve been asking is Ark 2 player on the Switch, the answer is a solid yes, as long as you’re playing Survival Evolved and stick to TV or tabletop mode for local play. It’s not the most polished multiplayer experience out there, and you will have to adjust a few settings to avoid frequent frame drops, but it’s more than enough for casual co-op sessions with friends where you just want to mess around and tame dinosaurs together. I’ve had dozens of hours of fun playing split-screen with my roommate, even with the occasional crash or performance hiccup. If you’re looking for a fun co-op survival game to add to your Switch library, Ark is a solid pick as long as you go in with realistic expectations about its limitations on the platform.