ARK: Survival Ascended
15 community-verified launch options for ARK: Survival Ascended on Steam ↗.
DeveloperStudio Wildcard
PublisherStudio Wildcard
Released2023-10-25
EngineUnreal Engine 5
-
-popupwindowCopyRun in a borderless window (Unity games)- Effect
- Creates the window as a dialog with no frame. Not supported on macOS.
DisplaySafe -
-force-openglCopyForce the legacy OpenGL renderer (Unity games, legacy builds)- Effect
- Windows only. Selects Unity's LEGACY OpenGL backend, not the core profile — use -force-glcore for that. Builds made with newer Unity versions may not carry the legacy backend at all, in which case this has no effect.
DisplaySafe -
-force-d3d11CopyForce the Direct3D 11 renderer (Unity games)- Effect
- Windows only.
DisplaySafe -
-force-d3d12CopyForce the Direct3D 12 renderer (Unity games)- Effect
- Windows only.
DisplaySafe -
-force-vulkanCopyForce the Vulkan renderer (Unity games)- Effect
- Useful where the default backend crashes or performs badly; ignored if the build has no Vulkan path.
DisplaySafe -
-force-low-power-deviceCopyUse the low-power GPU (Unity games, macOS)- Effect
- macOS only. Picks the integrated GPU over the discrete one, trading performance for battery life.
Safe -
gamemoderun %command%CopyRun the game under Feral GameMode (Linux)- Effect
- Applies temporary host optimisations (CPU governor, I/O and process priority) for the game's lifetime, then restores them on exit. GameMode runs the game, so %command% is what it runs.
Proton-DeckSafe -
mangohud %command%CopyShow the MangoHud performance overlay (Linux)- Effect
- Draws FPS, frame timing and CPU/GPU load over Vulkan and OpenGL games. MangoHud runs the game, so %command% is what it runs.
Proton-DeckSafe -
-ResX=1920CopySet the window width in pixels (Unreal Engine games)- Effect
- Takes its value with = and no space. Epic pairs it with -ResY and -windowed.
- Example
-windowed -ResX=1920 -ResY=1080
DisplaySafe -
-dx11CopyUse the DirectX 11 renderer (Unreal Engine games)- Effect
- Selects DX11 as the RHI. Ignored by builds without a DX11 path.
DisplaySafe -
-ResY=1080CopySet the window height in pixels (Unreal Engine games)- Effect
- Takes its value with = and no space. Epic pairs it with -ResX and -windowed.
- Example
-windowed -ResX=1920 -ResY=1080
DisplaySafe -
-windowedCopyRun in windowed mode (Unreal Engine and Source games)- Effect
- Unreal documents pairing it with an explicit resolution. In Source -window, -sw and -startwindowed are the same option.
- Example
-windowed -ResX=1920 -ResY=1080
DisplaySafe -
-USEALLAVAILABLECORESCopyUse all available CPU cores (Unreal Engine games)- Effect
- Lifts a core-count limit the engine would otherwise apply. Epic documents it as "Use all available cores."
PerformanceSafe -
-fullscreenCopyRun in fullscreen mode (Unreal Engine and Source games)- Effect
- Overrides a saved windowed preference. -full is the same option in Source.
DisplaySafe -
-dx12CopyUse the DirectX 12 renderer (Unreal Engine games)- Effect
- Selects DX12 as the RHI. Ignored by builds without a DX12 path.
DisplaySafe
How to apply a launch option on Steam
- Open Steam and go to your Library.
- Right-click the game and choose Properties.
- On the General tab, find the Launch Options field.
- Type or paste the option (e.g.
-windowed) into the field. To use several at once, separate them with spaces (e.g.-windowed -novid). - Close Properties. Steam saves automatically, and the option applies next time you launch the game.
To remove one, reopen the same field and delete the text. Options are game-specific; an option that helps one game may do nothing (or misbehave) in another.
Worth knowing: a launch option can break a game's rendering, reset local settings, or trip anti-cheat in multiplayer. Read the description first, add one at a time, and treat anything rated above Safe as a deliberate experiment.
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