How to Keep a Game Server Online 24/7 Without Your PC

To keep a game server online 24/7 without your PC, the server has to run on a different machine that stays on: a spare computer at home, a rented cloud machine you manage yourself, or a game server host. Co-op worlds go offline the moment the host closes the game, because the host's PC is the server. Moving the world to a dedicated server fixes that, and friends can play whenever they want.

Short answer

• Co-op or Open to LAN: the world lives on the host's PC and stops when they stop. It cannot stay online without them.
• Dedicated server on a spare PC: stays online as long as that PC, your router and your internet stay on.
• Cloud machine you manage: stays online, but you handle Linux, installs, updates, firewalls and security yourself.
• Game server host: stays online with no machine of your own to look after. On GamezServers you are live in about 60 seconds.

Why your world goes offline when you log off

In most survival games, "hosting" means your game client is also acting as the server. Minecraft's Open to LAN, Valheim's Start Server, Palworld co-op and player hosted worlds in Enshrouded all work this way. When you quit the game, turn off your PC, or your PC goes to sleep, the server goes with it, and your friends see "connection lost".

It also means the world's save lives only on your PC. If friends want to play while you are at school, at work or asleep, they cannot. Dedicated server vs peer to peer explains the difference in more detail.

Option 1: a spare PC at home

Every game we host ships a free dedicated server program. Install it on a computer you do not use for gaming and leave that computer on.

What you need:

• A machine with enough RAM for the game. Minecraft and Terraria are happy with 2 to 4 GB. ARK and Palworld want 12 to 16 GB for the server alone. See how much RAM a game server needs.
• A wired connection to the router and decent upload speed.
• Port forwarding, or a workaround if your ISP uses CGNAT. See how to host a game server without port forwarding.

Keeping it running around the clock:

1. Turn off sleep. On Windows, open Settings, then System, then Power, and set sleep to Never when plugged in.
2. Stop surprise restarts. Set Windows Update active hours, or pause updates, so it does not reboot in the middle of a session.
3. Start the server automatically. On Windows, put a shortcut to your start script in the Startup folder (press Win+R and type shell:startup) or use Task Scheduler with a "When the computer starts" trigger. On Linux, create a systemd service.
4. Restart on crash. Wrap your start command in a loop that restarts the server when it exits, or use the restart option in systemd.
5. Set up backups. Copy the save folder to another drive or cloud storage on a schedule.

Costs and catches: electricity (a desktop left on all month can cost roughly 10 to 20 USD depending on hardware and rates), your home IP shared with players, and power cuts or internet outages taking the world down. Read is hosting a game server at home safe before you open ports.

Option 2: a cloud machine you manage yourself

You can rent a general purpose virtual machine and install the server yourself. This keeps your home network out of it.

What it involves: picking a machine with enough RAM, connecting over SSH, installing SteamCMD or Java, opening firewall ports in both the provider's panel and the operating system, writing a service to keep the server running, and patching the machine for security. It is a great way to learn Linux, but it is a real sysadmin job, and machines with 8 to 16 GB of RAM are not cheap on general cloud platforms.

Option 3: a game server host

A game server host runs the server on its own hardware in a data center, already set up for your game. You get a panel instead of a terminal.

On GamezServers:

1. Pick a game, for example Minecraft, Valheim or Palworld, and choose a plan sized by RAM.
2. Pay, and the server is live in about 60 seconds. The address and panel appear on your dashboard.
3. Paste the address into the game and send it to friends.

The server runs on dedicated hardware in a data center, so the world stays online when you log off. Nobody sees your home IP and there is nothing to forward. You can still type any command in the live console, edit files in the browser, and upload worlds by SFTP. See the control panel docs.

Want it truly always on? Servers have a setting called Sleep when empty, which stops the server after 90 minutes with nobody online and lets anyone with access start it again with one click. If you want the world running around the clock, for example so Pals keep working or a factory keeps producing, turn it off in Settings.

Cost: from 4.99 USD a month for 2 GB. Choose Split with friends at checkout and each person pays their own share, so a 9.99 USD server split 4 ways is about 3.50 USD each. See game server hosting you can split with friends.

Moving your existing world

You do not need to start over. Most games let you copy your co-op or single player save onto a dedicated server. The steps, and the folder names for each game, are in how to move your world to a hosted server.

Which option fits your group?

FAQ

Can a co-op world stay online when the host leaves?

No. In co-op the host's game is the server, so the world stops when they quit. You need a dedicated server for the world to stay online.

Does a hosted server keep running when I turn off my PC?

Yes. It runs in a data center, not on your PC. Your friends can join any time, as long as the server is started.

Will my server turn off by itself?

On GamezServers, only if Sleep when empty is on, after 90 minutes with nobody playing. Nothing is lost and one click starts it again. Turn the setting off if you want the server online around the clock.

Is it bad to leave my PC on 24/7 for a game server?

Modern PCs handle it fine, but you pay for the power, share your upload with the server, and your world goes down with any power cut, update restart or internet outage.

The easy way

If you want your world online when everyone else logs off, pick your game on the games page. You are live in about a minute, and your PC can finally go to sleep.