Best Space Games With Dedicated Servers (2026)

The best space games with dedicated servers in 2026 are Space Engineers for physics based ship building, Empyrion: Galactic Survival for survival across whole star systems, Stationeers for hardcore life support engineering, and Avorion for a co-op galaxy of block built ships. Archean, StarMade, Astroneer, Space Station 14 and Kerbal Space Program with Dark MultiPlayer complete the list. All of them keep a shared universe running on a server so builds and fleets are still there next session.

How we picked

Every game here has a dedicated server, a persistent world worth keeping online, and multiplayer that is better with a group. We note what each server is like to run, because space games are some of the hardest to size: memory and CPU follow how much is built, not just how many people are online.

Quick comparison

1. Space Engineers

Space Engineers from Keen Software House is the engineering sandbox the genre is measured against. You design ships, stations and planetary bases block by block, then fly them, mine with them and crash them into each other. Everything is physics driven and destructible.

On a server, groups run shared factions, mining operations and ore runs between planets and moons, or PvP worlds with grid size rules. Survival mode brings power, oxygen and hydrogen into play, while Creative is pure building.

What to know when running one:

• Workshop mods only load with experimental mode on.
• Torch is a community wrapper around the dedicated server with plugins for admin tools, grid cleanup and performance.
• Block limits and PCU caps stop one player from building a ship that drags the whole server down.
• Sizing follows grids, not players. 8 GB fits a small survival group, 12 GB a busier or modded server, 16 GB big modded worlds. Clearing abandoned grids helps more than anything.

Guides: how to host a Space Engineers server and how to add mods to a Space Engineers server.

2. Empyrion: Galactic Survival

Empyrion from Eleon Game Studios starts you stranded on a planet, then takes you from a survival base to small vessels, capital ships and space stations that travel between planets and star systems. Factions can play co-op, building a fleet together, or fight in PvP zones.

Many groups do not play the vanilla galaxy at all. Reforged Eden 2 is the most popular community scenario, with a redesigned galaxy, new blocks and much longer progression. Scenarios only apply to a new save, so set it in dedicated.yaml before the first start.

Empyrion is demanding because every planet or space area players occupy runs as its own playfield process. A small group that sticks together fits 8 GB, a full 20 player Reforged Eden 2 server wants 16 GB.

Guide: how to host an Empyrion server.

3. Stationeers

Stationeers from RocketWerkz is the hardcore pick. You build a base on a hostile world and keep it alive by managing atmosphere, gases, temperature, power, manufacturing and food. A leaky pipe can vent a room and a bad gas mix can set the base on fire. With friends, everyone takes a system and argues about whose wiring caused the blackout.

A server is where IC10 programming pays off: automated furnaces, airlocks, solar trackers and greenhouses keep running whether anyone is online or not, unless you turn on Auto Pause. Maps include Lunar, Mars, Europa, Mimas, Vulcan and Venus. It is light: a small crew fits 4 GB and big automated bases 6 GB. Direct connect only accepts a numeric IP and port, not a domain name.

Guide: how to host a Stationeers server.

4. Avorion

Avorion is a space sandbox where you build ships block by block, then mine, salvage, trade, fight pirates and the Xsotan, and push toward the galaxy's center past the barrier. Alliances share ships, stations and money, which makes it one of the best co-op space games for a regular group.

When a player hosts, the galaxy and alliance stations stop when they leave. A dedicated server keeps it simulating. Workshop mods go in modconfig.lua inside the galaxy folder and download to players when they join. A server can hold up to 64 players. 4 GB covers a few friends early on, 8 GB a full 10 player group exploring widely.

5. Archean

Archean is a physics driven engineering sandbox set in a full scale solar system. You build rovers, bases and spacecraft and program them with the in game XenonCode language. It is co-op: one person wires the flight computer while another drills for ore. Servers support up to 16 players, and the developers recommend at least 8 GB of RAM and a fast single core, because the physics is the real cost.

6. StarMade

StarMade is an older voxel space sandbox where everything from a fighter to a massive station is built block by block in a huge generated universe. Factions claim systems, mine, trade and send fleets at each other. Community developers keep updating it since Schine paused official work. The cap is MAX_CLIENTS in server.cfg, 32 by default, and it runs on Java with 4 to 8 GB depending on fleets.

7. Astroneer

Astroneer is the relaxed option: land on alien planets, reshape the ground with a terrain tool and build bases, rovers and automated production lines. Dedicated servers hold up to 8 players, a hard cap set by the game. PC players on Steam and the Microsoft Store can join, but Xbox consoles only connect to servers run by the developer's own hosting partners, so plan a rented server around PC players. Guide: how to host an Astroneer dedicated server.

8. Space Station 14

Space Station 14 is a free, open source remake of Space Station 13. Every round is a shift aboard a station as a chemist, security officer, janitor or captain, with traitors somewhere in the crew. Communities are defined by their rules and roleplay standards, which is why groups run their own. Settings live in server_config.toml. It is light on memory but CPU heavy for atmospherics.

9. Kerbal Space Program with Dark MultiPlayer

Dark MultiPlayer is a fan made, open source mod that adds multiplayer to the final KSP 1.12 release. Everyone shares one universe, builds in their own hangar and meets in orbit. Subspace warping lets each player time warp on their own clock and sync forward later. The server is tiny, 1 to 2 GB, because physics runs on each player's PC.

Which space game should my group pick?

• You love building and want real physics: Space Engineers, or Archean if you also want to program.
• You want a long survival progression across star systems: Empyrion, ideally with Reforged Eden 2.
• You want an engineering puzzle that punishes mistakes: Stationeers.
• You want co-op fleets, trading and exploration: Avorion.
• You want something relaxed for mixed skill levels: Astroneer.
• You want roleplay and chaos: Space Station 14.

FAQ

What is the best space game with a dedicated server?

Space Engineers for building and physics, Empyrion for survival progression, and Avorion for a co-op galaxy. All three run well on a rented dedicated server.

Which space game supports the most players on one server?

Space Station 14 allows up to 256 on our setup and Avorion up to 64. Building games like Space Engineers are limited more by block count than by player count.

Why do space game servers use so much RAM and CPU?

Every ship, station and block is simulated, often with physics. Memory and CPU grow with what players build and how spread out they are, more than with player count.

Can I play Space Engineers with mods on a dedicated server?

Yes. Turn on experimental mode, add the Workshop mod IDs to the world's mod list, and players download them when they join.

Is there a free space game with dedicated servers?

Space Station 14 is free and open source, and players only need the free launcher and an SS14 account.

Hosting one with us

Every game on this list is in our catalog, ready minutes after paying, with DDoS protection, full file access and SFTP for saves and configs, and backups before game updates. Groups can split the bill, each paying their own share from a link, and you can upgrade anytime as your fleet grows. Start with Space Engineers, Empyrion or Avorion.