How to Monetize an ARK or Palworld Server Within the Rules

How to monetize an ARK or Palworld server: the short answer

You can monetize an ARK: Survival Ascended server with donations and with perks such as VIP roles, reserved slots and items, as long as your total income stays within the server’s running costs plus tips. That limit comes from the ARK Survival Ascended Dedicated Server EULA, which allows personal use only and counts revenue beyond operational costs or tipping as commercial use. Palworld is different: Pocketpair has published no server monetization rules, and its EULA grants a personal, non-commercial license, so the safe path is to ask Pocketpair before you sell anything.

Neither studio offers a full server policy like Mojang or Facepunch do, so this guide sticks to what the official pages actually say and marks our own reading as such. Everything below was checked on October 20, 2026. Read the live pages before you open a store, and ask a lawyer if a plan sits in a gray area.

The official pages that set the rules

Only a handful of official pages matter; most other advice comes from forum threads and hosting blogs.

ARK: Survival Ascended

• The Dedicated Server EULA. Studio Wildcard’s server software for ASA (Steam app 2430930) carries a three-sentence license: the server “is intended and allowed for Personal Use only”, running it for Commercial Purposes is not allowed, and “Commercial Purposes includes any revenue generated by operation of the Application which exceeds Application operational costs or tipping.”
• Nitrado’s ASA FAQ. Studio Wildcard and Nitrado announced in an August 15, 2023 press release that Nitrado would be the only commercial provider of rented ARK game servers, with self-hosting still possible on PC. Nitrado’s partnership announcement answers “Can I monetize my ARK: Survival Ascended Server?”: its exclusivity “will not prevent monetization of your self hosted or even rented server, such as but not limited to donations, ‘VIP’ roles, reserved slots, items and anything else that is permitted within the Terms and Conditions & End User License Agreement”.
• The Code of Conduct. Studio Wildcard’s Code of Conduct for the Official Network bans real-money trading: ARK items, creatures and services may only be exchanged for other items, creatures or services in the game. Real-money trading is on its list of bans that cannot be appealed.

Put together: Nitrado confirms that VIP, slots and items are possible, and the EULA caps how much money the server may bring in. The EULA sentence is short and its wording is not perfectly clear. Our reading is that covering your costs and accepting tips is fine, while profit beyond that is commercial use.

ARK: Survival Evolved

We found no current Studio Wildcard page on monetizing ARK: Survival Evolved community servers, and older “it’s fine” quotes circulate only through forum posts. Until Studio Wildcard says otherwise, apply the same costs-plus-tips model as ASA and ask before you charge for anything more.

Palworld

• The Palworld EULA. Palworld’s Steam page points to Pocketpair’s End User License Agreement, last updated March 18, 2025. It does not mention dedicated or community servers at all.
• The Mod Guideline. Pocketpair’s Palworld mod guideline, linked from its July 9, 2026 Steam announcement about mods and 1.0, covers mod use on servers but not money.
• The server guide. The official Palworld Server Guide explains dedicated and community servers (a community server is a dedicated server listed in the in-game server list) and says nothing about charging players.

ARK: allowed vs not allowed

Here is how common monetization methods line up against the ASA pages above. “Within the cap” means the method is named as possible, but total server income must stay within running costs plus tips.

Running an ARK server under the cost cap

The cost cap changes the question from “how much can this earn?” to “what does the server cost?”, and you fund that openly.

• Publish your costs. A costs page with hosting and website bills shows players where the money goes and gives you a record.
• Use a monthly goal. Show a progress bar toward this month’s costs. When it is full, stop selling new perks for the month or roll the surplus into next month’s bills instead of keeping it.
• Keep perks modest. The ASA pages do not use the term pay-to-win, but a reserved slot or a cosmetic VIP tag annoys far fewer players than paid top-tier tames. That is our advice, not a rule.
• Leave premium mods out. CurseForge’s premium mod help article says premium mods must be purchased to use them on a server and can only be bought through the in-game experience. Do not sell or bundle access to them.
• Keep official servers out of it. Never sell anything that is delivered on the Official Network, and never trade items for money there.

The Fan Content Guidelines, last updated September 18, 2026, are written for videos, art and screenshots, and their monetization permissions apply only to videos and livestreams. They do not cover servers, but their first rule is a good model for your store: do not state or imply that you are affiliated with, sponsored or approved by Studio Wildcard.

Palworld: allowed vs not allowed

Because Pocketpair has no server monetization page, most rows below say “not addressed”. That is not a yes. The EULA’s general terms still apply to how you use the game.

Palworld: what to do when there are no server rules

The Palworld EULA was written for players, not server owners, and several clauses could be read against a paid server: the license is for “personal, non-commercial enjoyment” (2.1), you agree to use the Services “for your own personal, non-commercial use” (5.1), and you shall not “exploit any of the Services commercially” (5.2.1). Pocketpair’s Guidelines for Derivative Works (last updated January 18, 2024) are about fan art and fiction, but they show the same attitude: they prohibit using Pocketpair’s products for “highly commercial or profit-oriented purposes, regardless of whether direct monetary compensation is received.”

None of this names servers, so we cannot tell you a Palworld VIP rank is banned. We also cannot tell you it is allowed. Here is how to handle that:

1. Start without charging. Paying a host is normal; charging players is the open question.
2. Ask Pocketpair in writing. The EULA’s contact section gives [email protected] for questions about the agreement, and the mod guideline gives [email protected] for mod questions. Describe exactly what you want to sell, for example “a $3 monthly supporter role with a colored name and a reserved slot”, and keep the reply.
3. Expect a short or no answer. The Derivative Works guidelines say Pocketpair cannot respond to individual questions about interpreting those guidelines. If you get no clear yes, do not sell.
4. If you must cover costs, keep it plain. A tip jar that funds hosting and gives donors nothing in game is the most cautious setup. That is our reading of the EULA, not Pocketpair’s.

Whatever you decide, keep mods off official servers and back up saves before you add server mods.

Can an ARK or Palworld server use an offerwall?

An offerwall lets players earn your server currency by completing offers from advertisers, such as trying an app or answering a survey, and pays you per completed offer. What is an offerwall? explains the model. Neither studio mentions offerwalls, so follow the studio rules first and stay well inside them.

On an ARK server

• Count it toward the cap. Money you earn because players use your server’s earn page is, in our reading, revenue from operating the server. Add it to the same monthly costs goal as VIP sales and donations.
• Currency stays on your server. Earned coins have no cash value, never cash out, and cannot be traded for real money or used on official servers.
• Coins buy only what you could sell. A reserved slot, a VIP tag, or items on your own server, never premium mod access.

On a Palworld server

Wait for a written answer from Pocketpair. An earn page is a way of making money from your server, and the EULA’s non-commercial terms are the same question you would be asking about a store. If Pocketpair agrees, use the same setup as for ARK, and keep in mind EULA section 3: in-game items may never be redeemed for real money.

For both games

• The wall lives on your website. Players sign in to an account on your site and open the wall themselves; no in-game popups and no offer spam in chat.
• Age. The Palworld EULA says no part of the game is directed at children under 13. Sharklio requires end users to be at least 16, with parental permission under 18, so ask for age at sign-up and keep younger players away from the earn page.
• Credit from the server, not the browser. Add coins only from a signed postback and take them back when an offer is reversed. What is a postback URL? covers the mechanics.
• Plan for alt accounts. Any reward system attracts farmers; read Stop multi-accounting and VPN abuse before launch.

To price coins against your perks, How to set your virtual currency exchange rate walks through the math, and the virtual currency calculator lets you try your own rate and split.

A monetization plan for an ARK or Palworld server

1. Pick the game’s rule set first: costs plus tips for ARK, ask first for Palworld.
2. Write a costs page and a store page with every price and perk visible before players join.
3. For ARK, launch with donations, a cosmetic VIP tag and reserved slots, tied to a public monthly goal. For Palworld, launch free and send Pocketpair your question.
4. Move supporter perks to Discord where you can, such as roles and private channels. Discord’s own rules apply there; How to monetize a Discord server covers them, and Best Discord bots to grow your server lists tools for roles and announcements.
5. Grow the community off the server with How to get more Discord members, without fake members.
6. Add an earn page only when your rules allow it and most of your players are 16 or older.

Running other games too? Compare How to monetize a Minecraft server, How to monetize a Rust server, and How to monetize a FiveM server, where the studios publish fuller rules.

Frequently asked questions