Best Games for Discord Communities With Their Own Server (2026)

The best games for a Discord community are the ones where your group can run its own dedicated server: Minecraft for an SMP, FiveM for roleplay, Rust for wipe day crowds, Project Zomboid and DayZ for long running survival, Palworld and ARK for bigger groups, and CS2 for 10 mans and custom modes. A shared server gives the Discord a place to be, not just a place to talk.

We picked games on three things: does a server give the community a persistent shared space, can it hold the size of a real Discord, and does it link to Discord in some useful way (chat bridges, status bots, whitelist by role). Player numbers below are what our plans are sized for unless noted.

Quick picks

Game	Best for	Community size	Discord link
Minecraft: Java Edition	SMPs, creative builds, minigames	10 to 120+	DiscordSRV chat bridge
FiveM (GTA V)	Roleplay	16 to 48	txAdmin Discord bot, role whitelists
Rust	Wipe cycles, PvP or PvE	50 to 200	Plugin frameworks, wipe announcements
Project Zomboid	Long survival, roleplay	8 to 32	Built in Discord chat bridge
DayZ	Survival, PvE and RP	20 to 60	Admin tools and mods
Palworld	Casual big group	Up to 32	Status bots, events
ARK: Survival Ascended	Tribes, clusters	10 to 70	Clusters across maps
Counter-Strike 2	10 mans, retakes, surf	10 to 32	Scrims and in house leagues
Valheim	Small tight communities	Up to 10	Crossplay keeps everyone in
Terraria	Casual groups on a budget	8 to 32	TShock accounts and groups

1. Minecraft: Java Edition

Minecraft is the default Discord game for a reason. Everyone owns it or can get it cheaply, it runs on almost any PC, and an SMP gives a community a shared world where people build things together and leave stuff for others to find. Seasons give you natural reset points and a reason for people to come back.

Discord link: DiscordSRV is a free Paper plugin that mirrors in game chat to a Discord channel and back, posts joins, deaths and advancements, and can link accounts so Discord roles match in game ranks. Pair it with a whitelist so only members can join.

Start here: how to start a Minecraft SMP with friends and how to install plugins on a Minecraft server. Host it: Minecraft server hosting, sized for up to 10 players on 2 GB and up to 120 on 12 GB.

2. FiveM (GTA V roleplay)

If your Discord wants roleplay, FiveM is the answer. A GTA V RP server gives every member a character, a job and a story, and RP communities live in Discord: applications, departments, tickets and announcements all happen there.

Discord link: txAdmin, the server manager built into FiveM, has a Discord bot. It can post a status embed that updates itself and gate the whitelist by Discord role, so joining the right role in Discord is how people get into the city.

Start here: how to make a FiveM roleplay server, how to whitelist a FiveM server and how to use txAdmin. Host it: FiveM server hosting.

3. Rust

Rust communities are built around the wipe. Every wipe day the Discord fills up, teams form, and for a week everyone has something to talk about. You choose the map, the gather rate, the team size and the wipe schedule, so the server can be a chill PvE community or a full PvP grind.

Discord link: the Oxide and Carbon plugin frameworks have Discord integrations for chat, reports and wipe announcements. The bigger win is simple: post the wipe schedule and stick to it.

Start here: how to wipe a Rust server and best Rust server plugins. Host it: Rust server hosting, sized for 50 to 200 players.

4. Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid suits communities that like slow, long stories. A server can run for months, with players taking roles like mechanic, doctor or farmer, and roleplay servers with whitelists are common. With multiplayer on the stable branch since Build 42.20, it is a great time to start one.

Discord link: the server has a built in Discord bridge. In the server's .ini file set DiscordEnable=true, paste a bot token into DiscordToken= and the channel ID into DiscordChannelID=, and /all chat flows both ways.

Start here: how to make a Project Zomboid server private with a whitelist and best Project Zomboid server settings. Host it: Project Zomboid server hosting.

5. DayZ

DayZ community servers are the heart of the game, from hardcore PvP to PvE and roleplay. DayZ has no player hosted multiplayer, so a community that wants its own rules needs its own server. Custom loot tables and mods make your server distinct from the thousands of others.

Start here: best DayZ server mods and DayZ server admin tools and commands. Host it: DayZ server hosting.

6. Palworld

Palworld is the easy yes for a big casual Discord. A dedicated server holds up to 32 players compared with 4 in co-op, and since 1.0 Steam, Xbox, PS5 and Mac players can share it. It is low pressure, so people who only play twice a week still fit in.

Start here: how many players can join a Palworld server. Host it: Palworld server hosting.

7. ARK: Survival Ascended

ARK communities organise in tribes, and tribes organise in Discord. With your own server you set taming and breeding rates so members actually reach the late game, and a cluster lets players carry dinos between maps. It is demanding on hardware, so plan on 12 GB or more.

Start here: how to set up an ARK: Survival Ascended cluster. Host it: ARK server hosting.

8. Counter-Strike 2

CS2 servers turn a Discord into a team. Run 10 mans for in house games, a practice config for your squad, or retakes and surf for the nights nobody wants to sweat. It is one of the cheapest servers to run for the number of people it entertains.

Start here: how to set up a CS2 retakes server and how to make a CS2 surf server. Host it: Counter-Strike 2 server hosting, from 9.99 USD for 4 GB.

9. Valheim

Valheim caps out at 10 players, so it fits small, close Discords rather than big ones. What it does well is keep a group together: crossplay means console members are not left out, and boss nights make good scheduled events.

Host it: Valheim server hosting.

10. Terraria

Terraria is cheap to host, runs on almost anything, and has years of content. TShock adds accounts, permission groups and protected regions, which helps once your server has more than a handful of regulars.

Start here: TShock commands for Terraria servers. Host it: Terraria server hosting, from 4.99 USD a month.

How to tie a game server to your Discord

Whatever you run, a few habits make a server feel like part of the community:

A pinned join message with the address, password if any, and the game version. On GamezServers the Invite friends button gives you a join link to post instead: it shows the server's live status, the address to copy and step by step joining help, with no account needed.
A status channel with a bot or plugin that posts when the server is up or restarting.
Roles that map to access. Whitelist by Discord role where the game supports it.
A schedule. Wipes, seasons, events and restarts posted in advance.
A rules channel that matches what your admins enforce in game.

More on keeping a server busy in how to grow a game server community.

Paying for it as a community

A Discord server that shares a game server can share the bill too. At checkout choose to split with up to 10 friends, and each person pays their own share by card, with a 1 USD fee per share. See game server hosting you can split with friends.

FAQ

What is the best game for a small Discord server?

For 5 to 10 people, Minecraft, Valheim or Palworld. They are easy to learn, fun in short sessions, and a server keeps the world online so people can play on their own schedule.

Can a Discord bot start or stop my game server?

Some game frameworks have bots for status and chat, like txAdmin for FiveM and DiscordSRV for Minecraft. Starting and stopping is done from your hosting panel. On ours, anyone sharing the bill sees the server in their own dashboard and can start it.

How do I let only Discord members join my server?

Use a whitelist. Minecraft, Project Zomboid, FiveM and most other games support one, and FiveM's txAdmin can whitelist by Discord role directly.

Which game is best for a big Discord community?

Rust and Minecraft handle the biggest crowds, with servers sized for 100 players or more. FiveM is the pick if the community wants roleplay.