How to host an Abiotic Factor server (2026)

Short answer. You can host an Abiotic Factor server yourself for free: download the "Abiotic Factor Dedicated Server" (Steam app 2857200) with SteamCMD using an anonymous login, start it with a RunServer.bat file, and forward port 7777 (game) and 27015 (query). The developer's guide covers Windows only. Or rent an Abiotic Factor server and skip the networking.

Players find your server by its name in the in-game server browser and enter the password if you set one.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against game version 1.5.0.31876, the hotfix Deep Field Games announced on 3 November 2026.

This guide uses the developer's own dedicated server wiki (published by Deep Field Games on GitHub), its Steam announcements, and what we run on every Abiotic Factor server we host. To go straight to the rental route, see Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: "Abiotic Factor Dedicated Server", Steam app 2857200. It is a separate download from the game and an anonymous Steam login is enough. If you own the game, it is also in your Steam library under Tools.
• A Windows machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine. The server is a Windows program, and the developer's quickstart only describes Windows. A Linux route exists, but the developer only points to a community guide for it, so this guide does not cover it. We run the Windows server on Linux ourselves, through Proton.
• Hardware: Deep Field's server guide does not list hardware requirements, so treat any figure you read elsewhere as an estimate.
• A player cap: set with -MaxServerPlayers, from 1 to 24. The developer warns that going over 6 is not recommended: players get a warning popup before they join.
• Network: forward ports 7777 (game) and 27015 (query) from your router to the server machine. The quickstart does not say which protocol, so check the logs and your firewall if players cannot find you.
• Your SteamID64 to make yourself admin, if you play on Steam. Console players cannot be added by ID, which is what the admin password below is for.

The server software is free. You pay for the machine, power and bandwidth, not the software.

Option 1: host it yourself

These steps follow the developer's quickstart on Windows.

Install the server

1. Download SteamCMD from https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd.zip and unzip it into a folder such as C:\steamcmd.
2. Install the server with an anonymous login:

   cd C:\steamcmd
   steamcmd +force_install_dir C:\AbioticFactorServer +login anonymous +app_update 2857200 validate +quit

   On our own installs, SteamCMD has sometimes answered "Missing configuration" and still finished as if it had worked, with no game files in place, so our install script retries it. Check that steamapps\appmanifest_2857200.acf exists in the server folder, and run the command again if it does not.

Write the start file

1. Create a text file named RunServer.txt in C:\AbioticFactorServer\AbioticFactor\Binaries\Win64\ and put this on one line:

   AbioticFactorServer-Win64-Shipping.exe -log -newconsole -useperfthreads -NoAsyncLoadingThread -MaxServerPlayers=6 -PORT=7777 -QueryPort=27015 -ServerPassword=YourServerPassword -AdminPassword=YourAdminPassword -SteamServerName="Your Server Name"

   Replace the password and the name. Remove -AdminPassword= if you do not want an in-game admin password. Without that parameter, nobody can become admin by typing a password.
2. Rename it to RunServer.bat and double-click it. A console window should open.
3. Make yourself admin by ID (Steam only). Close the server, open C:\AbioticFactorServer\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\Admin.ini and add your ID under [Moderators]:

   [Moderators]
   Moderator=76561198000000000

4. Start the server again. The developer says to forward 7777 and 27015 if you cannot see the server in the browser.

Useful launch parameters

• -WorldSaveName=: the world folder to host. The default is Cascade.
• -SandboxIniPath=: where to read SandboxSettings.ini from, relative to the Saved folder. By default the file is created per world save and sits in that world's folder.
• -PlatformLimited=PC: turns off crossplay and lets only Steam players in. Playstation does the same for PlayStation players, and Xbox for Xbox and Windows Store players.
• -MultiHome=: the local IP address to listen on, for a machine with several network adapters.
• Never add -NOSTEAM: the developer's launch parameter page warns against it.

Join and update

1. Join it. In the game, open the server browser and search for your server name. In February 2025 Deep Field said that if a dedicated server does not appear in the in-game browser, you can close the game and find and join it from the Steam Server Browser instead.
2. Update by stopping the server and running the download command again. Deep Field asks server owners to update their dedicated servers with the game: after some updates, servers on an older version no longer show in the server browser.
3. Bring a world from your PC. Steam save folders work on a dedicated server, but PlayStation, Xbox and Game Pass saves do not. Copy the world folder to AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\Worlds\ and rename it Cascade, or use -WorldSaveName=.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the ports and the update routine. You still choose a name, a password and your settings.

1. Pick a plan. Open the Abiotic Factor server hosting page and compare the plans: GEIGER, DRILLER and X-RAY at the time of writing. Press Create Server (Customize Plan on X-RAY) and finish the order. The page lists the player slots and prices.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. The panel treats it as ready once its Console shows LogInit: Display: Engine is initialized.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, under Game Settings, set the Server Name and, for a private server, a Server Password. Then restart.
4. Make yourself admin. Stop the server, open Files, go to AbioticFactor/Saved/SaveGames/Server/ and add your SteamID64 under [Moderators] in Admin.ini, as in the Windows steps above. Save it and start the server. This works for Steam players only: our start command does not set an admin password, so PlayStation and Xbox players cannot be made admin on our servers. See How to become admin on your Abiotic Factor server.
5. Choose your rules. Difficulty, loot respawn, day and night speed and the other world options live in SandboxSettings.ini. Stop the server, open it under Files, change the values, save and start the server. See Abiotic Factor server settings: every option explained.
6. Invite your players. Give them the Server Name and Server Password you set under Game Settings. They search for that name in the in-game server browser and type the password when asked. See How to join your Abiotic Factor server.

What the panel does for you:

• The game port and the query port are assigned to your server when it is created and written into the start command for you.
• With Auto Update on (the default, under Show advanced in Game Settings), the server checks Steam for a new build each time it starts, so a restart is an update.
• The player cap comes from your plan. The Number of Players field is read only, and on the Overview page the Active players card has Edit slots if you want to run fewer than your plan allows.
• Stopping the server is not an instant kill. The start command sends the game an interrupt and gives it up to 90 seconds to exit on its own.
• The settings file is a single fixed file. The developer's default is one SandboxSettings.ini per world save. Our start command always points -SandboxIniPath at AbioticFactor/Saved/Config/WindowsServer/SandboxSettings.ini, and the installer puts the developer's default file there. You therefore have one file to edit, whichever world the server loads.
• Bringing a world from your PC? See How to upload your own Abiotic Factor world.

Self-hosting or renting: an honest comparison

• Cost: the server software is free. Self-hosting costs power, hardware and bandwidth, or a cloud machine. Renting is a monthly fee set by the plan.
• Uptime: a home server is only up while your PC, power and internet are. A rented server runs on the host's hardware.
• Exposure: at home, players connect to your public IP address and you look after the firewall and router. A rented server keeps your home IP out of it.
• Setup: self-hosting means SteamCMD, a start file, port forwarding and a Windows machine, since the developer only documents Windows. Renting needs a name, a password and your admin ID.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every launch parameter. On our servers you change the name, password and updates in the panel and the rules in SandboxSettings.ini under Files, but the start command is ours.

Ready to skip the setup? See the Abiotic Factor server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to join your Abiotic Factor server.