Games Where the World Keeps Running While You Are Offline

The games whose worlds keep running while nobody is online include Eco, Palworld, Soulmask, Avorion, Space Engineers, Vintage Story, Rust and ARK: their servers keep simulating, so Pals keep working, stations keep producing, crops keep growing and bases keep decaying. Others, including Factorio, Satisfactory, Project Zomboid, Necesse and Foundry, pause by default when the server is empty, and you can switch that off in a setting. Both only apply on a dedicated server: when one player hosts from the game, the world stops completely the moment they quit.

This matters more than people expect. A group that wants to come back to full storage chests needs a world that keeps running. A group that wants nobody to fall behind needs one that pauses. Knowing which kind your game is, and where the switch is, saves arguments.

Keeps running or pauses when empty

Games that keep running

Eco

Eco is built around a world that never stops. The meteor timer counts real days from when the server first starts, 30 by default, so it has to stay up whether anyone is online or not. Pollution spreads, plants regrow and animal populations recover on their own time. Eco is the clearest case of a game that is meant to live on a server.

Palworld

On a dedicated server, Pals assigned to your base keep working while everyone is offline: crafting, mining, farming and transporting. Log in after a day away and the chests are fuller. In normal co-op that only happens while the host is playing.

Soulmask

Your recruited tribespeople keep working their jobs, and the settlement keeps producing while you are away. That is the whole appeal of the game's automation, and it only works when the world is online.

Avorion and Space Engineers

In Avorion, alliance stations keep producing and the galaxy keeps saving. In Space Engineers, refineries keep refining and assemblers keep building, so the friend who logs in alone at 2 a.m. finds the ore processed. Both are space games where an industrial base is a long term investment.

Vintage Story

Seasons turn, crops grow, food spoils and temporal storms come whether the host is online or not. That is part of the challenge: a group that ignores the server for a week may come back to rotten food.

Rust and ARK

The darker side of a world that keeps running. In Rust, bases decay unless the tool cupboard has upkeep, and an offline base can be raided. In ARK, crops grow and the server keeps running, but unprotected dinos and structures on PvP servers are exposed. Both games have server settings or plugins to soften this, such as offline raid protection on Rust.

Games that pause by default

Factorio

Factorio's server-settings.json has "auto_pause": true by default, so the factory freezes when the last player leaves. Set it to false and production lines, trains and research keep going overnight. Biters keep evolving too, so do it only if your defenses hold. Factorio server-settings.json explained covers the file.

Satisfactory

The dedicated server pauses when everyone leaves. Turn off Auto Pause in the Server Manager settings and the factory keeps producing. More players also means more of the map loaded at once.

Foundry and Necesse

Foundry's Pause Server When Empty setting is on by default, in the panel. Necesse pauses by default too, and you can switch that off in server.cfg if you want settlers working around the clock.

Project Zomboid

The PauseEmpty option in the server .ini is on by default, so in game time stops when nobody is connected. Turning it off makes the apocalypse progress without you: the power and water shutoffs arrive on schedule, and loot respawn settings keep ticking. Many groups keep it on so nobody misses the shutoff. See best Project Zomboid server settings.

Which should you choose

1. Different schedules, shared progress: turn pause off. Everyone benefits from what the world did overnight.
2. Story or difficulty milestones: leave pause on, so nobody misses a blood moon, boss or shutoff.
3. PvP: keep running is the norm, with offline protection rules if casual players matter to you.

What keeps the server itself running

None of this works if the server is a game client on someone's PC that goes to sleep at midnight. A dedicated server running 24/7 is what makes "keeps running" possible. How to keep a game server online 24/7 without your PC covers the options.

On GamezServers, servers run around the clock by default. Sleep when empty is an optional setting that puts a server to sleep after 4 days with nobody on, and one click wakes it. If your game is one that should keep simulating, simply leave that setting off. Servers are live in about a minute, with one click backups and the bill split between friends. Browse all games or start with Palworld.

FAQ

Does Palworld keep working when nobody is online?

Yes, on a dedicated server. Base Pals keep working while everyone is offline. In normal co-op, the world stops when the host quits.

Does a Factorio server run when nobody is on?

Not by default. Set auto_pause to false in server-settings.json and the factory keeps running with nobody connected.

Does Project Zomboid time pass with no players?

Not by default, because PauseEmpty is on. Turn it off in the server .ini to let time pass while the server is empty.

Do games keep running when the host leaves a co-op game?

No. In a co-op session hosted from the game, the world only exists while the host plays. You need a dedicated server for the world to keep running.