How to host a Space Engineers server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a Space Engineers server yourself for free: install "Space Engineers Dedicated Server" (Steam app 298740) with SteamCMD, run SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe, create a world, and allow UDP 27016 (the default game port) through your firewall and router. Or rent a Space Engineers server and skip the networking and the Windows setup.

Players find your server by its name in the in-game server list. Keen Software House documents the dedicated server for Windows.

Checked on 5 November 2026, accurate for Space Engineers hotfix 1.210.014 (14 August 2026), the newest patch in Steam's announcements feed on that date.

This guide uses Keen Software House's own dedicated server documentation, the Steam announcements for the game, and what we run on our own Space Engineers servers. To go straight to the rental route, see Option 2.

What you need

• Operating system: a Windows PC. Keen's page describes only the Windows setup. An administrator account is needed only if you want to run the server as a Windows service.
• Software: .NET Redistributable 4.8 or higher, and the Visual C++ Redistributable packages for 2013 and 2017.
• Hardware: Keen lists a minimum of a 3.2 GHz CPU with 3 logical cores, 6 GB of RAM and 5 Mbps of bandwidth. Recommended is a 4.5 GHz CPU with 3 logical cores and 10 GB of RAM, plus a static IP if the server is public.
• Network: the game uses UDP, with port 27016 as the default. Without a static IP, only players on your local network can connect.
• The game: every player needs their own copy of Space Engineers.

The server software is free. You pay for the machine, power and bandwidth, not the software. Mods and plugins come later: see How to add mods to your Space Engineers server.

Option 1: host it yourself

This works on a spare PC or a rented Windows machine. The steps come from Keen's dedicated server page and Valve's SteamCMD tooling.

1. Install SteamCMD from Valve, for example into C:\steamcmd.
2. Download the server. Keen's command is:

   steamcmd.exe +login anonymous +force_install_dir somedirectorypath +app_update 298740 +quit

   Replace somedirectorypath with a folder such as C:\SpaceEngineersServer. Keen also says you can install "Space Engineers Dedicated Server" from the Tools section of your Steam library, and adds that a Steam account with a valid license is needed to get the server files. If the anonymous login does not download them, use the Steam library route.
3. Start the server window. Run SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe, choose Local/Console, continue to the server configuration, enter a server name and a world name, then choose Save & start. To run it as a service instead, run it as Administrator, click Add new instance, give it a name that is unique on the machine, and configure it the same way.
4. Create or load a world. New game generates a world from a scenario. Saved worlds loads an existing one from AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineersDedicated or ProgramData\SpaceEngineersDedicated. To use a world saved from the game, copy it from AppData\Roaming\SpaceEngineers into one of those folders.
5. Set the options you need. The Edit config button opens the instance's configuration file. You can set a password, make the server visible only to one Steam group by its Group ID, and manage admins, banned players and reserved slots. The Mods tab picks the active mods. These command-line options also exist: -console, -noconsole, -path, -ignorelastsession, -maxPlayers, -ip and -port.
6. Open the port. Allow incoming UDP on the listen port (27016 by default) in the Windows firewall, then forward all incoming UDP on that port from your router to the server computer. The listen IP defaults to 0.0.0.0, which means all interfaces. Several instances on one machine each need their own port.
7. Stop it safely. taskkill /IM SpaceEngineersDedicated.exe stops the server and saves the world. Adding /f kills it without saving.
8. Check it. Look for your server name in the in-game server list, or ask a friend outside your network to try.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the firewall, port forwarding, Windows setup and update routine.

1. Pick a plan. Open the Space Engineers server hosting page and compare the plans (TITAN, TRITON and PERTAM at the time of writing, for 16, 24 and 32 players). Press Create Server on TITAN or TRITON, or Customize Plan on PERTAM, and finish the order. Prices change, so check them on that page.
2. Wait for the install. You get a "server ready" email and the server appears at panel.playnhost.com. On the Console tab, the panel counts the server as running when it prints Game ready....
3. Open Settings, then Game Settings. Except Starting World, these fields are written into the server's config files every time the server starts:
   • Server Name: the name players see in the server list, up to 64 characters.
   • Server Description: a short text, up to 200 characters.
   • Game Mode: Survival or Creative.
   • Enable Saving and Auto Save Interval (in minutes, 1 to 180).
   • Enable Experimental Mode: turns on Space Engineers' experimental mode. It is off by default, and Workshop mods do not need it.
   • Enable In-Game Scripts: allows programmable block scripts in the world.
   • Starting World: the world a new save is made from. See the next section.
   Maximum Players is set by your plan and cannot be edited. Auto Update, under Show advanced, is on by default: the server installs the newest Space Engineers build each time it starts.
4. Restart. When the panel shows "Saved. The server must restart before these take effect.", press Restart now and wait for the ready line.
5. Add Workshop mods (optional). Paste mod IDs into Steam Workshop Mod IDs, comma separated with no spaces, or add them on the Workshop page, then restart. The ID is at the end of the mod's Steam Workshop URL. The server downloads the mods as it starts, so the first start after a change takes longer. Let it finish.
6. Join. Find your server name in the in-game server list. See How to join your Space Engineers server for the details on the player side.

What the panel does for you

• The ready line and the port. The server counts as started when the console prints Game ready.... The panel writes the game port and a Steam port of 8766 into SpaceEngineers-Dedicated.cfg at every start, so you never edit them.
• One world folder, always World. The server only loads config/Saves/World under Files. A world in a folder with any other name is not loaded, and the console says so at every start. To bring your own world, stop the server, delete or rename the World folder, upload your world's folder (the one holding Sandbox.sbc and SANDBOX_0_0_0_.sbs) into config/Saves, rename it to World and start again. The full steps are in How to upload your own Space Engineers world.
• Settings that cannot be hand-edited. Game mode, player slots, saving, experimental mode and in-game scripts are written into the world's Sandbox.sbc and Sandbox_config.sbc every start, and the name, port and description into the main config file. Hand edits to those keys are replaced, so change them in Game Settings.
• A fresh world if you delete the old one. Delete the World folder and the next start builds a new world from your chosen Starting World. The choices are Alien Planet (the default), Earth Planet, Mars Planet, Moon Base, Star System, Home System, Distant Worlds, Distant Moons, Pertam Orbiter, Green Station, Asteroid Armory, Red Ship, Red Ship v2, Crashed Red Ship, Lone Survivor, Rival Platforms and Empty World.
• Its own Remote API key. The default config published on GitHub carries a shared Remote API security key. Our install replaces it with a random key per server, so the Remote API, which is off by default, is not protected by a publicly known key.
• Mods. Space Engineers keeps its mod list inside the world save, so once you have set any mod IDs, the panel rewrites that list from Steam Workshop Mod IDs at every start. Until then, an uploaded world keeps its own mod list. Backups: if your plan includes them, take one from Backups before changing files by hand.

Self-hosting or renting: an honest comparison

• Cost. Self-hosted: the software is free, and you pay for hardware, power and bandwidth, or a Windows machine in the cloud. Rented: a monthly fee set by plan. See the current plans.
• Availability. Self-hosted: as reliable as your machine and home internet, and it has to stay on while your friends play. Rented: runs on the host's hardware, not your PC.
• Network exposure. Self-hosted: players connect to your public IP, and you need a static IP for anyone outside your network. Rented: your home IP is not involved.
• Skill needed. Self-hosted: Windows setup, firewall and router rules, an XML config, and an update routine. Rented: a web panel with form fields.
• Updates. Self-hosted: run the SteamCMD command again after a patch. Rented: Auto Update installs the new build when the server starts, so press Restart after a patch.

Self-hosting suits you if a Windows machine already runs all day and you are comfortable with networking. Renting suits you if you would rather not look after hardware. Once the server runs, How to become admin on your Space Engineers server covers the next step.

FAQ

Can I host a Space Engineers server for free?

Yes. The dedicated server is a free tool on Steam. You still pay for the machine, power and internet, and it must stay on while people play.

Which port does a Space Engineers server use?

UDP 27016 is the default game port, and you can change it in the configuration. Keen asks you to allow and forward incoming UDP on whatever listen port you choose.

Do I need to own the game to run the server?

Keen says a Steam account with a valid license is needed to get the server files from Steam. Players need the game to join.

Does it run on Linux?

Keen documents only Windows. On PlayNHost the server runs on our Linux machines under Wine, set up for you.

Can I use Steam Workshop mods?

Yes. Keen's dedicated server has a Mods tab for the active mods, and since the Fieldwork update (April 2025) mods no longer need experimental mode. On PlayNHost, paste the IDs into Steam Workshop Mod IDs and restart.

Ready to skip the setup? See the Space Engineers server plans.