Game Servers: Host Your Own on a VPS, RAM, Mods and Latency

Running your own game server means you pick the mods, the rules, the world and who gets in. A VPS stays online when your gaming PC is off, and it gives your friends a public IP to connect to.

What will you find in this section?

Practical guides to running dedicated game servers on a Linux VPS. As this section grows, it covers getting specific games running: Java and Bedrock Minecraft worlds, Valheim servers for a friend group and Palworld worlds. It also covers topics that apply to any game, including installing with SteamCMD, opening the right ports, keeping the server running after you log out, adding mods and backing up your worlds.

RAM sizing gets extra attention, because it decides which plan you need. Player count, view distance and mod packs all push memory up. When a server runs out, players see lag spikes or crashes instead of a polite error.

Where should a game server run so latency stays low?

Close to your players. Distance and every network hop add delay, and in fast games that delay is what people feel.

Our servers run in the IDACORE Boise data center in Boise, Idaho. Measured latency from Boise is 14 ms to Salt Lake City, 22 ms to Portland and 23 ms to Seattle, and under 5 ms to Treasure Valley businesses. If your group is spread across the Northwest and the Mountain West, Boise sits in the middle of it.

Game servers run on our NVMe VPS plans, priced at $5/GB RAM from $10/mo, so the memory you size for maps straight to a monthly price. Dial it in to the RAM your world needs. The network port is 1 Gig standard. Transfer is an allowance: if you go over it, the port is throttled, never billed.