Connecting to Steam Servers

Using the Steam Launcher

You can connect to game servers that use the SteamCMD software by using the Steam Server Browser as an alternative to any potential in-game server browser. You’ll start by navigating to the game in question (We're using ARK as an example) in your Steam Library and then using the View → Servers menu option. That will open a window similar to the one shown below. Loading...

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With the server window open, you can use the “Add Server” button highlighted in the image above and you’ll get a window similar to the one below. Enter the Ip and Port combination for your server into the address field and click the OK button to check the IP and Port combination.

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If the server is running and you can connect to it, you’ll get an image similar to the one shown above. This means that the server has been added to your favorites and you'll be able to connect to it from here or in-game depending on the game.
If it's not running you'll get a pop-up from Steam telling you that it couldn't find a server at the provided address.

Using a Steam Connect Link

Steam also supports the use of "Steam Connect" links that can open the Steam game in question automatically. Not all games support this, but using SteamCMD is normally an indicator that it does.
You can provide friends and players with a Steam Connect link using the format below.

steam://connect/<Game Server IP>:<Server Query Port>

A player can click on this link from their browser and grant the site it was sent on permission to open Steam in order to open a window that looks similar to the one shown on the right.

Your server will have to be online for any information about it to appear on this window and they’ll be able to join the server directly as the game launches from here.

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