Game server VPS: Palworld and Rust dedicated servers

Most Steam game servers are downloaded with SteamCMD, an official command-line tool. Create a server with Ubuntu 24.04 or Debian 12, install the 32-bit libraries and SteamCMD, create a separate user account for the game server and download the server files with that account. Run the app_update command with each game's app ID and installation and updates are done together.

Once installed, start the server with the game's start script, and register it as a systemd service so the game server comes up automatically when the server restarts. Running it inside screen or tmux is also common if you want to watch the console while managing it. If you know Docker, run each game's public server image on the Docker app image for an even simpler start.

Finally, open the game ports in the firewall. The defaults are UDP 8211 for Palworld, UDP 2456 to 2457 for Valheim, 27015 for CS2 and 28015 for Rust. Some games also need a query port opened to show your server in the in-game server list, so check each game server's official guidance too. Change basic settings such as server name, password and max players in each game's config file, and restart the server after changes to apply them right away.

For game servers, memory is the first thing to consider when choosing a plan. Light servers such as Valheim or CS2 are fine with 12 GB, and Rust uses 16 GB or more depending on map size and players. Palworld's official guidance recommends 16 GB of memory, and with many players or long uptime, usage grows, so a 32 GB memory optimized plan gives more room.

The CPU handles the computation a game server does at once. If you want even ticks during busy evenings, a dedicated CPU plan that does not share vCPUs with other customers is a great fit. The disk is used for saving worlds and loading maps, so an NVMe plan makes server starts and saves faster.

We recommend starting one plan up and watching memory and CPU usage for about a week. If specs fall short, create a new server on a bigger plan in the same account and move your world saves over, and delete leftover servers right away so you use only what you need.

World save files are the most valuable data in running a server. With the automatic backup option on when you create the server, the whole server is kept, and when you need a restore, request it on the support page. On top of that, compressing the save folder daily with cron and copying it to another server or storage gives extra peace of mind.

If you run a public server, choosing the DDoS protection option keeps your server standing steadily against traffic attacks. Allow admin SSH only with SSH keys, and keep remote admin ports such as RCON open only to your IP for safety. When a game update comes out, the server must match the same version for players to connect, so adding the SteamCMD update to your restart script is handy.

If you want to run several games, keeping up to 10 servers in one account and splitting servers by game is clean. You can also open servers in different cities for communities in different countries, and for Minecraft, the Minecraft VPS page covers Java and Bedrock setup in detail.